YuGiOh! MS Mirai no Sekai FUTURE WORLD
by ProjectM.G
Summary: We have seen card games dominating a city, a school, motorcycles, but what about card games on giant robots which serve to save a city from terrorist attacks? And how would our protagonist, Yuchi Kendai, feel from piloting such a massive being?
1. Chapter 1: Duelists

**_Chapter One: Duelists _**

He never had many friends. He was just an ordinary 16-year-old with a quiet, secretive demeanor that resulted in his peers to neglect him. Worse still, he did not have any exceptional looks, nor did he follow the latest fashion in clothing. His family was not rich as well.

In fact, he did _not_ have any family at all. His parents, like his peers, abandoned him. His mother no longer existed in the part of his mind labeled 'living' whereas his father had been missing for years. A few recollections of his childhood revealed that he had been living alone all this time. Except for the dilapidated apartment that a distant relative donated to him, he did not really have any assets. At times, he had to go hungry for days, had to endure the chilling frost of winter, had to use an invented remedy with no scientific proof to cure his fever.

Whenever he routinely called out 'I'm back home' to his empty home at Old Tops after school every day, how he wished he could have somebody who could give him a big hug and warmly welcome him with a homemade meal. How he wished he could turn on the tap and enjoy cool, refreshing water while lazing on a _tatami_. How he wished he could quit his job at the nearby convenience store and whole-heartedly indulge into his world of Duel Monsters, late into the night every day.

'Hey, Yuchi! You got full marks for your Rulings test! Congrats!'

'Perfect grasping and timing. Good work, Kendai.'

But he did not need those praises! He had already heard enough of it. Since young, he was always regarded as a Duel Monsters prodigy. 'Yeah,' he would sometimes think to himself sarcastically, 'I'm a genius. A genius with few friends. A genius with no extra time to spare. A genius who did not want to hear anymore good things about himself.'

Yuchi had his own dreams. Since he never lost to anyone in a duel, he thought that he might just as well use his abilities to help other people. A glance into his bedroom, you would find that aside from a dusty wardrobe, a broken single-person bed with holes all over the place, suggesting that the bedroom might be inhabited by millions of termites; the rest of the room was literally overflowing with loads and loads of papers. Posters stuck onto the yellowish wall. Newspapers cutouts here and there. All sorts of papers related to one single topic: _U.N.D.E.A.D._

U.N.D.E.A.D. Standing for _UNit DEvelopment And Decisions_, it was an organization established under the Momentum Research and Development (M.R.D.) sector of Kaiba Corporation, the company responsible for the rise and flourish of Duel Monsters and later, the D-Wheel system in the city.

'_Duel Monsters robots built for security purposes_,' Yuchi read out the title as he glanced through one of the newspaper cutouts. He had always wanted to ride on one of those gigantic beasts, playing the Good Samaritan who defended Neo Domino City from the evils of the world. He knew somehow that his father was related to the organization, he understood that it would not be the best idea to follow his footsteps, but he wanted to have a try at it, it would help fulfill his great dreams and perhaps, find out hints about his father's whereabouts.

Yuchi rummaged through the mailbox at the corner of the apartment corridor. Letters from Sector Security, bills from the electricity supply company, more bills from the water supply company… Yuchi half-closed his eyes in search for his prey. The morning was bright; much sunlight could penetrate through the heavily dented roof, glistening the damp floor.

'Gotcha',' Yuchi smiled, as he pulled out a torn copy of the Neo Domino Daily from the stack of papers. His neighbor, the old Mr. John, would donate him a previous-day copy of the tabloid from his workplace every day. Yuchi needed that reservoir of information very much; it was his only way to obtain more knowledge about U.N.D.E.A.D.

'Bang!' Yuchi slammed the heavy door beside him and trolled into the bedroom, feeling quite satisfied with his results. To him, nothing was better than being able to reach one step closer to his dreams. He poured out a hot cup of hot chocolate from a dirty kettle. That would be his breakfast.

There was not much news about U.N.D.E.A.D. as usual today. 'Maybe it's because there was too much classified information?' Yuchi deduced, taking a sip. Since Washington and Beijing built their own Units years ago, news coverage of the mysterious organization became less and less.

Yuchi placed his Neo Domino Daily on the chair and changed into his school uniform. Yuchi buttoned up his shirt, which looked half as white as it was in the first place. He tucked the edges into his tattered blue long pants, put on his school badge and his prized possession – a shiny, white Duel Disk that he won during a tournament three years ago. Before that, he did not really own any of those things; he either dueled in the old-fashioned _Duel Rings_ at the shabby KaibaLand or borrowed the Duel Disks from other people, much to the annoyance of some.

He slotted his deck into the Duel Disk and was ready to go. Yuchi received the deck enclosed in an anonymous letter one day seven years ago. He had been using the same deck to duel ever since then, with his peers or in class. He did not need to buy those expensive booster packs to strengthen his deck; he thought that it was unnecessary. The most important things to a duelist, he believed, were a sense of confidence and a clear mind.

Yuchi tugged a pail and put it along the corridor. Mr. John's blasting radio from the next door announced that it would rain today, so Yuchi had to collect water for drinking and sanitation purposes.

One flight of steps and Yuchi was down at the ground floor of the two-storey apartment. Somebody said that it had fifteen floors many decades ago, but the rest of the thirteen floors were reduced to debris by some weird-looking spiral structure that emerged from the sky many decades ago.

Anyway, Yuchi took a last glance at his home and got on his bicycle. It was a shabby piece of metal that other people regarded as 'junk' and just left it behind in the back alley.

Yuchi rode along the streets, past the heavy traffic at the junction, ignoring the eyes of passers-by who don't really appreciate such antiques at the vicinity. D-Wheels were still the top priority for any teenager who wanted to own a vehicle for himself or herself. As it was time to start school, one might see a lot of reds, blues and blacks on the street, all operated by the uniform-wearing 15 or 16-year-olds.

But Yuchi did not care for such lavishness. Since the Speed World System was abolished for its complexity years ago, riding at top speed, sprinting through the duel lanes, feeling the breeze on your face, all really did not matter that much. He thought that it would be simple and easy to just duel with your Duel Disk on one hand while controlling the bicycle with another hand.

Yuchi rode past the magnificent KaibaCorp building. Probably the tallest building in the world, it had more than enough space to house thousands of workers with more than a million inventions, all thanks to the facilities provided by the great Seto Kaiba. The red signboard, emboldened with the white words 'KC', dazzled like a ruby on the top of what looked like a white sword.

The two most acclaimed inventions from the company in the recent era would be the Momentum Reactor and the Units, giant robots powered by the 'Fortune' reactor and incorporated with the Duel Monsters system, whose purpose was to defend the city from anyone who violate the _Asimov Treaty_. Yuchi had read it once on Neo Domino Daily. The Asimov Treaty was signed by members of the United Nations two decades ago, right after Unit-0 Prototype was built.

A short journey after the KaibaCorp beast, Yuchi reached the Duel Stadium. The dome still remained as grand as ever as it was fifty years ago. Being the official venue of the prestigious W.R.G.P. tournament (which would be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year), the Duel Stadium was a paradise of opportunities for promising duelists who wanted to show off their talents. The glaring sun shone the dome so bright that it looked like a giant golden bun. Yuchi smiled while wiping off the sweat on his forehead with his free hand. He had always wished to become the Duel Champion there one day, but since he did not have a D-Wheel of his own, the wish seemed far away.

'_Ohaiyo_, Yuchi,' someone greeted him from the back. Yuchi took a peek at his back. Came Kaworu Ikari, who had long white hair and ruby eyes in contrast to Yuchi's neat, short brown hair and blue eyes. Kaworu was the typical _bishounen_ one would encounter in anime and manga, boasting good looks and a sweet, polite demeanor.

Kaworu was Yuchi's friend and only best friend since middle school. His family, like Yuchi's, was not wealthy either, but at least he lived a life of happiness and warmth under his parents' care. Unlike his other peers, Kaworu did not seem to be concerned about Yuchi's personality; he was probably the only person in Yuchi's life who could tolerate his silence.

'_Ohaiyo,_' greeted Yuchi back, not looking at the plain-haired teenager in a tiny black D-Wheel at the back. He needed to focus on controlling his bike.

The sun was shining at full brightness now. Yuchi glanced at his watch. Eight fifteen. No time to waste; he must hurry to school now.

Yuchi pedaled harder and sent the bike in full speed. He could literally feel the wind lapping at his face as he rode quickly, past a row of shops, a university, more shops and a large dull building. Kaworu did not want to lose to his friend either; he accelerated and followed closely behind Yuchi's bike.

By eight thirty, both Yuchi and Kaworu had reached the school. The green words that flashed past the digital screen at the school gate read '_Neo Domino City Duel Academy'_. It was the place that Yuchi and Kaworu had been studying in since middle school. The architecture of the school building did not change much from when it was first built at the start of the century: an orange amphitheater which housed the school hall and the dueling stadium and three towers arranged close at the back colored red, blue, yellow respectively, signifying the class system that a certain company president created. The class system no longer existed, however there was still much rivalry among the inhabitants of the three towers.

As the two best friends enjoyed a stroll into the school, they suddenly heard a loud explosion from the back, followed by the cries of some girls. Turning back to see the culprit who created the din, they saw two young duelists running frantically towards them. One of them was screaming, 'H…Help! I…I…It's Pr…Professor Bonaparte again!'

Kaworu facepalmed. He and Yuchi knew who it was again: the infamous Professor Jonathan Bonaparte, great-great grandson of the former Vice Chancellor of the school. An expert in the theoretical part of Duel Monsters science, but a failure when it came to the practical part.

Today, Professor Bonaparte seemed to be trying out another of his 'prized' concoctions again: the Super Duper Awesome Duel Monsters Expert Juice. With a _Test Number 17_ at the end.

'Looks like it's gonna be big today,' sighed Kaworu. Yuchi observed the situation quietly.

From the smoke half a mile away emerged a monster. The two-meter tall monster had hideous grey skin that resembled a zombie's, large, burgling eyes, and a big, fat stomach. The laboratory coat that his original identity wore apparently could not fit into his enormous body and burst. Amazingly, the white Duel Disk that he wore on his left wrist still remained clean and intact.

'DUEL WITH MEEEEE!' roared the monster.

'What a big mess,' Kaworu commented as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his deck.

The monster stepped forward, stomping towards Yuchi and his friend. A few schoolgirls hurried to the sides of the lane.

'DUEL WITH MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' roared the monster again, as he stomped into the school gate, much to the horror of the cleaning robots nearby. But nobody wanted to listen to him.

Kaworu attempted to take a step forward but was halted by Yuchi. Kaworu understood what his friend meant and nodded to him.

Yuchi walked calmly towards the gigantic monster, stopping just twenty feet in front of him.

He pointed at the mutated Professor, and shouted at him, 'You! Duel with me!'

Such a twist in events shocked everyone nearby, except for Kaworu. He just happened to know that his friend would do something like this.

'Look! It's that cool guy from Class 1-B! Is he going to stop Professor Bonaparte from going insane again today?' whispered a girl at the back.

'Yeah, I guess we're going to witness his super ace monster once more,' whispered another.

Kaworu understood who they were referring to – Yuchi's rare Synchro Monster, the one card that even the mighty aristocrat of the Manjoume Family couldn't afford to own, Supernova Angel Knight.

'DUEL!' shouted both duelists, after what seemed to be an exchange of glares between them. Decks shuffled.

* * *

><p>'WHATTT? Y…Y…YOUR ULTIMATE ACE MONSTER?' exclaimed a shocked Professor.<p>

'I'm afraid so,' said his opponent, who could surprisingly remain calm and collected under such circumstances. 'I tune my Level 3 Magical Fairy Apprentice with my Level 5 Sapphire Angel!'

Large, green rings emerged from the sky, enclosing the designated monsters.

'_The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory!'_

Kaworu could not bear anymore the feeling of excitement in his heart. 'It's finally here,' he thought.

The tuned monsters disappeared in a flash of white light, and burst into a cluster of bright, shiny glitters, slowly diminishing to reveal a magnificent warrior. The warrior had big, white wings resembling those of a fairy, and was holding a long sword. A halo appeared out of nowhere, settling down on top of his armored head.

'_Synchro Summon! My ultimate ace, Supernova Angel Knight!' _announced Yuchi.

Professor Bonaparte could not hide the terrified expression on his face as the white warrior was being summoned to the field.

The next moment he knew, a gale swept out the monsters on his field and his Life Points count on the Duel Disk was nullified. He had lost the duel.

Kaworu arrived with the laboratory assistant, who claimed that he had concocted an antidote to bring the Professor back to normal. 'Let's go,' Yuchi said to his friend coldly and turned back, ignoring the old man who was overwhelmed with despair from his loss. The assistant immediately attended to him.

Lunchtime. Yuchi walked up to the rooftop alone. He did not have any money to buy food from the canteen, but he did not want to take any of Kaworu's food either. That was his principle of life.

He looked down below. The wreckage caused by Professor Bonaparte just now was still there, although the man himself had obviously retreated back to his nest, probably scheming for another round of failed experiment. People in school uniforms were merrily tucking into their food and talking to each other in groups, or engaging in the sport known as dueling. The Professors were busy walking around in the school compound and observing the behavior of students, ensuring that nothing would go wrong.

Suddenly, something outside the school gate caught his eye. A man, dressed in black, drove a big D-Wheel and stopped before the school gate. Slowly and steadily, the man parked his vehicle as instructed by the guarding robot, stepped into the school and marched towards his direction. The man was much taller than Yuchi was, and was wearing a black Duel Disk around his left wrist. Yuchi could vaguely guessed who that person was, although he could not confirm since he could not see the man's face.

Kaworu made his way to the rooftop and hurriedly ran towards Yuchi. 'S…Someone wants to see you,' he panted.

Yuchi was led by Kaworu to the dueling stadium, where many people were already gathered there. At the middle of the open amphitheatre was the man he just saw.

Yuchi froze. 'Was he the person that I suspected? Why did he want to see me?' Many questions emerged in his mind.

Kaworu did not bother to look at the facial expression of his friend and dragged him to the front of the man. Besides the man, two other things were also present at the middle of the stage. They were the D-Wheels used by the school for training purposes.

'Excellent,' applauded the man with a deep, hoarse voice. The man looked just two or three years older than Yuchi and Kaworu, but was much stronger and more muscular for his age. He had long black hair, fitting his handsome face well.

The man walked towards Yuchi and offered a handshake. Yuchi turned his head to the side.

'Still remember me?' asked the man. Yuchi let out a grudge.

The man smiled and put his hand on Yuchi's shoulder. 'Today we're going to _settle our scores_,' he said.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview for Chapter 2<strong>

Yuchi's Riding Duel with the mysterious man began…

Who was the man exactly? Why did he challenge Yuchi to a duel?

And what was the relationship between them?

Yuchi's Supernova Angel Knight clashed with the man's ace monster, _Berserk Dragon_!

Berserk Dragon was actually… An _Xyz Monster_!

What powers did Berserk Dragon have?

Don't miss the exciting _Chapter 2:_ _Rival!_

Duel… Standby!

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

Hurray! I've finally completed Chapter One of my first ever fanfiction!

Please review this piece of work after reading! I accept both praise and criticism! _Arigato ne!_

And if you're wondering why my first chapter seems a bit long, I've actually planned each chapter to be as long as this.

Next chapter will feature _one full-length duel_. So don't miss it next week!

_- Project M.G. _


	2. Chapter 2: Rival

**_Chapter Two: Rival_**

'_Tenshi Ryuma_. That's his name,' Kaworu explained.

The scene of the two duelists getting on their D-Wheels and starting the engines was reminiscent of the event three years back then. During the finals of the Junior Riding Cup. The incident that sparked the rivalry between the two duelists.

Kaworu, who was not trained in Riding Duels, did not sign up for the event; but Yuchi, who had been practicing ever since elementary school, entered the tournament. The results were excellent for a first-timer like him. Yuchi braved through the preliminary rounds, fought his way up to the semi-finals with a breeze and eventually reached the finals.

The other finalist, also a first-timer, was _Tenshi_.

'Why have you come for me?' Yuchi asked Tenshi, as both of them made their way to the starting point of the circular track.

'To _settle our scores_, of course.'

Yuchi would never believe that. In fact, nobody in Yuchi's shoes would be convinced by a reason like this.

As they walk past the spectators, many girls cheered for Yuchi. Despite being quiet and unsociable, Yuchi had some popularity in the school after all.

'How did you manage to convince the Chancellor to arrange this duel?'

'Why should I tell you? Just focus on ending our rivalry for now,' Tenshi replied coldly, his eyes fixed towards the front where the starting point was.

Yuchi and Tenshi rode to the starting point and paused before a horizontal white line. Yuchi took the time to adjust the strap of his helmet. It's always a good practice to ensure the safety of the rider before a duel begins.

A holographic screen appeared before the duelists with the large white number '10' in the middle. It followed that the two duelists settled themselves in the standby position, ready to take off.

'_Vroom_, _vroom_,' bellowed the D-Wheels.

The number on the screen changed to '9', followed by '8', '7', and'6'…

The seconds ticked past and Yuchi's heart thumped harder. 'Will I be able to win this duel?', 'What would happen if I lose this one?' were the only questions in his mind right now.

'3', '2', '1'…

'_Begin_!' shrieked a woman's voice from the screen. Duel Disks unfolded before the duelists. Yuchi and Tenshi immediately turned their deck holders on their wrists to make them face towards them.

'Auto-Pilot Mode, standby.'

'_RIDING DUEL, ACCELERATION_!' cried both duelists and the race began.

Both D-Wheels darted forward amongst the cheers and shrieks from the spectators. Yuchi maneuvered his accelerator and caused it to dash faster, taking the lead.

'Then I shall go first!' declared a confident Yuchi.

He drew five cards from his deck and slotted it to the side of his deck holder. Pulling out the sixth from his deck, he announced: 'my turn! Draw!'

Tenshi also drew out five cards from his deck and placed it beside his deck holder. His cold, black eyes revealed his nature as an arrogant duelist who seemed to ignore everything in the world when he dueled, except to find a way to outwit his opponent. Yuchi could still see from his dark, gloomy visor that he was the same person as the one who nearly beat him in the duel three years ago.

Yuchi picked out the third card from his left and swiftly inserted it into the monster card slot of his Duel Disk.

'I Normal Summon _Marshmallon_!' He declared as a weird, pink gummy-like being appeared.

'Marshmallon in Defense Mode? Are you trying to start off with a defensive strategy, Yuchi?' rang Kaworu's mind.

'I set two cards and end my turn,' Yuchi placed two cards facedown into the magic and trap card slots.

'Well, well, well… Trying to defend my attacks, huh?' intimidated Tenshi, who suddenly accelerated and shot his D-Wheel till it nearly crashed into Yuchi's vehicle.

'My turn!' Tenshi pulled out a card from his deck. 'This time, I'll be the _first_ to summon my ace monster,' he thought to himself.

'I summon the _Hellish Breaker_!' A giant, black robotic-looking monster with long claws protruding out of his hands emerged from a ring of light.

'Hellish Breaker, demolish his Marshmallon to pieces!' the eyes of the robotic monster suddenly glowed red and immediately, it sped towards Yuchi's Marshmallon and ripped it to shreds with his sharp claws.

'Unfortunately, Marshmallon cannot be destroyed by battle,' Yuchi revealed a smile, as the shreds joined themselves to form a Marshmallon again.

'Do you seriously think I haven't expected that?' laughed Tenshi, much to the surprise of Yuchi.

Yuchi's Life Points counter dropped from 4000 to 2900. The spectators realized this and some stopped cheering for Yuchi.

'Hellish Breaker's effect,' explained Tenshi, 'is to inflict _Piercing_ damage. Marshmallon's Defense is only 500, but Hellish Breaker's Attack is 1600, so you'll naturally take 1100 damage.'

Tenshi drove his D-Wheel to just beside Yuchi, and said, 'Yuchi, don't ever think of defeating me.'

To his surprise, Yuchi smiled again.

'Oh?' exclaimed Tenshi. 'You have a strategy to defeat me?'

Yuchi pressed the button to the left of his first facedown card, revealing a Trap Card.

'_Gift of the Holy Innocent_. When I take Battle damage, I am able to activate this card.'

Tenshi's smile turned into a frown.

'I select a monster on my field and Special Summon one Fairy-Type monster from the Deck whose Level is the same as that monster,' Yuchi explained, searching through his pile of cards in his deck holder, while trying to maintain his balance.

'Marshmallon is_ Level 3_, so I summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster, _Magical Fairy Apprentice_ from my Deck,' Yuchi proceeded to explain. He inserted a card he chose into the Duel Disk and appeared a petite angel with white, fluffy wings and a long, grey staff.

'Only 1200 Attack Points, huh?' Tenshi smiled. 'I set two facedown cards and end my turn.'

'As long as he doesn't have a Level 2 or 5 monster next turn, he would not be able to summon his ace monster,' he thought to himself. The smile on his face gradually vanished. 'You've done well, Yuchi. As the rumors have said. But this is as far as you'll go.'

'My turn!'

Yuchi declared with a confident look retained on his face while pulling out a card. He took a quick glance at the card and immediately slotted it to the side of the deck holder.

'I tune my Marshmallon and Magical Fairy Apprentice together!' Yuchi proceeded with an unforeseen strategy, which shocked Tenshi, Kaworu and pretty much half the spectators in the stadium.

'Yuchi, so that's what you were planning after all?' was the first thing that came to Kaworu's mind. He had never seen his friend using a Synchro Monster other than his Supernova Angel Knight before.

He observed Tenshi's expression. Obviously the smile on his face had disappeared and deep furrows emerged in his brow. However, like the patient 'opponent' he had also observed three years ago, Tenshi did not seem to show any form of worry or anxiety in response to Yuchi's strategy, he continued to keep his cool, riding his D-Wheel in the same steady fashion.

The large green rings emerged from the sky and enclosed both Marshmallon and Magical Apprentice Knight, assimilating them into six bright, tiny stars.

'_O' warrior of all life, descend from the sky! Summon your great sword, in the name of the Lord!'_

The white warrior that was summoned was slightly smaller than Supernova Angel Knight but seemed more agile than his senior. He had large arms, muscular and bulky; his metallic palms were holding onto the handle of what looked like a giant sword, one with a blade that could probably cut off the neck of elephant with one swipe.

'_Synchro Summon! The angelic fighter, Fairy of Justice!'_

As soon as the new handsome warrior was summoned to the field, the spectators immediately took out their devices and checked on the school's database for more information about it. Apparently some were wondering how could the anti-social Yuchi gain access to such highly rare cards when those who had good relations with people from the local card shops couldn't.

'Attack 2500? That's pretty high for a Level 6 monster,' Kaworu thought so after checking on his device.

'So your strategies have gone out of my predictions, huh?' jeered Tenshi. 'Now that would make a spectacular duel. A duel fit for two archrivals! Ha-ha-ha!'

'Magical Apprentice Knight's effect activates! When I use it for the Synchro Summon of a Fairy-Type monster, I can select one Equip Spell Card from the deck and add it to my hand!' Yuchi explained, searching through his deck. He finally picked one, and without hesitation inserted it into his spell card zone.

'Equip Spell Card activate! _Mage Power_!' Yuchi announced, followed by a loud 'WHAT?' from the spectators.

'With this, Fairy of Justice gains 500 Attack for each Spell or Trap Card on my field, and since I have two of those, it gains 1000 Attack!' Tenshi could only watch as the holographic warrior grew larger and larger and his attack sprang from 2500 to a whopping 3500.

'Fairy of Justice, attack Hellish Breaker! _Blade of Justice!' _Yuchi shouted out his attack, followed by an ear-piercing slash from the Fairy of Justice's sword, splitting the black robot in half.

Tenshi's Life Points drop drastically to 2100.

'Well done, I must say,' applauded Tenshi. 'But after all are you satisfied with just this kind of achievement?'

'What are you talking about?' Yuchi was confused by Tenshi's words.

'I mean that I'm sure you must have considered my facedown cards before attacking,' explained Tenshi, the long collar of his black jumpsuit swaying in the air. 'What makes you so sure that my facedown cards couldn't counter your unexpected strategy?'

'Ha,' Yuchi finally laughed a little, after months of depress. 'Tenshi, remember three years ago?'

Tenshi smiled. 'As expected,' he thought to himself.

* * *

><p>Memories of the duel <em>three years ago<em> reran in his mind. Like today, that day was also a cool day. A fine day for a Riding Duel.

'My turn!' shouted Yuchi. 'I summon my Magical Fairy Apprentice!'

'Oh? It seems that one of our finalists had summoned a Tuner Monster! Is he going to proceed with a Synchro Summon?' the Master of Ceremonies exclaimed in a loud, sharp voice.

Tenshi let out a grudge. He only had a Defense Position monster on the field. How could he, a great duelist, let his opponent summon his Ace Monster first?

'Let's go, my monsters!' cried Yuchi. 'I tune my Level 3 Magical Fairy Apprentice with my Level 5 Sapphire Angel!'

'_The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory!'_

The two monsters vanished in a flash of bright light and Yuchi's most coveted servant emerged from a pool of stars.

'_Synchro Summon! My very best, Supernova Angel Knight!'_

* * *

><p>'Tenshi,' Yuchi said, waking Tenshi up from the memory lane. 'That time, I was the one who summoned my ace monster earlier.'<p>

'So?' Tenshi rebutted.

'Sorry for saying so, but as the best player of Duel Academy back then, you must have felt disgraced to let a younger opponent summon his ace monster one step earlier than you. Furthermore…'

'Furthermore?'

'Our duel ended _without_ conclusion,' Yuchi explained. 'That makes you even more disgraced.'

Kaworu was impressed with Yuchi today. The amount of talking he had done during the duel was far more than what they had chatted about for three days.

'So,' Yuchi paused and continued, 'you must have thought of ways to stop me from summoning your ace monster earlier than you.'

Tenshi let out his smile once more as Yuchi started to unravel the mysteries surrounding his facedown cards.

'Hence?' he questioned.

'I deduce that your facedown cards could only counter my use of Supernova Angel Knight.'

'Sorry, but I think I'm disappointed,' Tenshi said, much to the surprise of Yuchi.

'You mean those are not the cards that Yuchi had predicted?' Kaworu thought to himself, feeling rather shocked by Tenshi's confession.

'What if I say… Those are only _generic_ traps?'

Yuchi could not conceal his angry look.

'See for yourself!' Tenshi declared, as the spectators started to applaud. 'The ultimate strategy of the former Duel Academy champion!' The crowd were hyped up by Tenshi's words and roared with excitement.

Yuchi looked at his hand. There were no cards that could be played. He ended his turn abruptly.

'My turn!' Tenshi cried.

'Continuous Trap Card activate! _Powerful Rebirth_!' One of Tenshi's facedown cards finally revealed itself.

'With Powerful Rebirth, I can summon one of the monsters in my Graveyard, and equip it with this card. And of course, I revive my Hellish Breaker!' the black robotic-looking monster returned, energetic as ever.

'That's not all. Hellish Breaker gains one Level and 100 Attack Points. Of course, the Attack Points don't really matter.' Yuchi widened his eyes as he looked at the Level of Hellish Breaker rise from 4 to 5.

'And then,' he declared, 'I Normal Summon my _Berserk Engine No. 4_!' A strange-looking android emerged out of a glowing ring.

'Berserk Engine No. 4's effect! When another Level 5 monster is on my field, Berserk Engine's Level increases to 5!'

Yuchi somehow knew what would be coming. Just like his extremely rare Supernova Angel Knight, Tenshi's ace monster, the fearsome _Berserk Dragon_, was also highly coveted by duelists and card collectors.

'I _overlay_ both of my Level 5 monsters!' Tenshi announced his next step. A shining spiral structure opened up on the racetrack between the two D-Wheels, engulfing the designated monsters.

'With two of my monsters, I construct the Overlay Network!'

Tenshi swiftly pulled out a black card from his Extra Deck and showed it to the crowd. The crowd could not help but gave an ovation to Tenshi's expertise in dueling.

'Xyz Summon! Appear now, my faithful servant, Berserk Dragon!'

'Yuchi,' Tenshi's face suddenly appeared in the screen in front of Yuchi. 'Here's a lesson for you. A _real_ duelist does not think about what his next opponent would do and how to counter it. A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his _own_ strategy well in order to face his next opponent.'

The racetrack trembled as if an earthquake was about to happen. Up above, the dark, gloomy sky was tinted with shades of red and purple, giving one the impression that Zeus might have been furious and hence he set the clouds on fire. Then all of a sudden, the scarlet sky split open and a streak of lightning struck the ground below. The crowd remained exceptionally silent, their eyes wide open.

A large shadow emerged out of the sparks and flashes. Its two black wings and arms and legs opened up, revealing its identity as a dragon. Then, with a blasting roar, the dragon showed its magnificent figure to the crowd, who could only squeal with excitement and perhaps a little fear.

Yuchi held its breath as the black dragon approached closer and closer to him. Even though it was the second time he was encountering it, he still could not remain calm at its appearance.

The great beast looked more like a hybrid of a machine and a dragon rather than a pure-breed dragon. It has four claws on its feet, all which looked like they were made of steel. Not to mention that it had one giant gun-like weapon equipped on its left arm and a blade on the right. The shiny metal plate on its thorax seemed to be its armor.

Kaworu took a glance at the monster's information shown on his device's screen. Tenshi had placed his servant in Attack Position, and its Attack Points was a fearsome 3000.

'Ha-ha-ha!' Tenshi laughed. 'How is it, Yuchi? To let your opponent summon his ace monster first?'

Yuchi had somehow calmed down. He was sure that he could still defeat Tenshi.

'Berserk Dragon's effect! By detaching one of its _Xyz Materials_, I can destroy one monster you control!' Provided with more power, the dragon let out a victorious cry.

'Berserk Dragon, destroy that Fairy of Justice with your _Berserk Buster!'_ The dragon suddenly went maniac and dashed towards Yuchi's monster full of energy.

'Fairy of Justice's effect!' Yuchi declared. 'By sending an Equip Spell Card equipped to this card to the Graveyard, I can negate its destruction! I remove Mage Power!' A barrier enclosed the monster, protecting it from Berserk Dragon's furious attack. Fairy of Justice's Attack dropped back to 2500.

'But my Berserk Dragon's second effect!' Tenshi laughed. 'Yuchi, you'll now taste the bullets of my ace monster.'

Flames shot out from Berserk Dragon's 'gun', engulfing the D-Wheeler in an inferno.

Yuchi's Life Points dropped from 2900 to 1700, and his D-Wheel was overtaken by Tenshi's D-Wheel.

'Berserk Dragon's _Remorseful Flames. _Inflict 200 damage to the opponent for every Level that the targeted monster has. I believe you haven't forgotten, Yuchi?' Tenshi explained.

'The final play!' Tenshi declared. 'Berserk Dragon, attack Fairy of Justice with _Ultimate Fire!' _Berserk Dragon took a U-Turn and dashed once more towards Yuchi's only monster.

'Trap Card activate!' Yuchi decided that he must defend against his strongest opponent thus far with all his power. '_Threatening Roar!_'

'Oh,' Tenshi smiled, 'So you planned to use this card against Berserk Dragon, after all?'

'With this, your attack has been negated!'

'Then I shall set one more card and end my turn! It's your last turn now, Yuchi!'

'My turn!' Yuchi cried, pulling out a card from his deck.

He looked at the card and smiled. Seemed that the fairies heard his prayers.

'I activate my Spell Card, _De-Synchro_! I send Fairy of Justice to the Graveyard, and in turn, Special Summon both Marshmallon and Magical Fairy Apprentice from my Graveyard!' Yuchi announced his next move with much confidence.

Fairy of Justice disappeared in a puddle of light and his two Synchro Materials returned to the field.

'I tribute my Marshmallon and Advance Summon my Level 5_ Sapphire Angel_!' Marshmallon disappeared in exchange for the summoning of a fairy that somehow resembled a larger Magical Fairy Apprentice, only he was wearing blue robes and had a blue staff in his hand with a sapphire gem on top.

'Sapphire Angel's effect! When this card is Normal Summoned, I can draw one card!' Yuchi pulled a card out from his deck.

'I tune my Level 3 Magical Fairy Apprentice with my Level 5 Sapphire Angel!'

Tenshi's mouth turned into a wide _'U'_ shape.

'Finally, Supernova Angel Knight,' said a relieved Kaworu.

'_The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory!'_

'_Synchro Summon! My ultimate ace, Supernova Angel Knight!' _

The great white warrior emerged from the sky, its glittering armor gave a whole new color to the originally dark, gloomy sky. The spectators applauded at the return of Yuchi's signature monster.

'So you are here finally! Supernova Angel Knight! Ha-ha-ha!' Tenshi laughed, while his Berserk Dragon loudly roared at the appearance of its eternal rival.

'Yuchi,' Tenshi said. 'Now, the true battle begins.'

_Yuchi: LP 1700, Tenshi: LP 2100_

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

Yuchi's Riding Duel with Tenshi continued!

Attack after attack, trap after trap… It's a fiery match for sure!

But was Tenshi's purpose of dueling Yuchi really to 'settle their scores'?

Another mysterious man appeared in front of Yuchi!

Who is he? What's his motive?

Don't miss the next _Chapter 3: …Am I Weak?_

Riding Duel, Acceleration!

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter:<strong>

_Berserk Dragon_

DARK/Rank 5/Machine-Type/Xyz

2 Level 5 Monsters

Effect: By detaching one Xyz Material from this card, select and destroy one monster your opponent controls. Inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to 200* the Level of the selected monster.

ATK 3000/DEF 2500

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

As promised, the first _full-length duel _is featured this chapter.

It's one of the longer duels that I've planned for the fanfiction, so I have no choice but to split it into two chapters, _gomen!_

Like the original Duel Monsters and Zexal animes, I've decided to start off with a duel between the rivals of the show.

Yuchi uses a Fairy-Type Synchro Deck while Tenshi uses a Machine-Type Xyz Deck.

The main reason for doing so is to emphasize the '_rivalry_' between the two _rivals_.

Synchro is a card colored white, Xyz is a card colored black.

Fairy-Types are mostly LIGHT or WIND attributes, Machine-Types are mostly DARK or EARTH attributes.

The designs of their ace monsters also reflect such a rivalry between them!

Anyway, I've talked too much, so that's all for this chapter.

Next chapter will feature another new character! Don't miss it!

Again, please review after reading! _Arigatou!_

_- Project M.G._


	3. Chapter 3: Am I Weak?

**_Chapter 3: …Am I Weak?_**

_Yuchi: 1700 LP, Tenshi: 2100 LP_

The two D-Wheelers raced along the track, their ace monsters following closely behind them. It was a splendid sight. The bright shine emitted from Yuchi's monster, Supernova Angel Knight, contradicted well with the dark, nightmarish aura surrounding Tenshi's monster, Berserk Dragon, signifying the fiery rivalry between the two duelists.

Kaworu held his breath as he watched his friend fighting against an old enemy from where he was. It kept reminding him of the duel three years ago, in which he was also a spectator.

Drizzles started to fall from the gloomy sky above. Despite this, the excitement of the audience was not damped. They continued cheering for their favorite duelists. Apparently so many students were absent for class after lunchtime that the Chancellor decided to call it a day off after a meeting with all the Professors.

It was still Yuchi's turn. He had just summoned his beloved monster and was getting more and more confident.

'Magical Fairy Apprentice's effect! Since it has been used for the Synchro Summon of Supernova Angel Knight, I can choose and add one Equip Spell Card from my deck to my hand!' Yuchi proceeded to pick out a card from his deck.

The smile retained on Tenshi's face. He looked just as arrogant as he was.

'I equip Supernova Angel Knight with _Axe of Despair_! With this, Supernova Angel Knight gains 1000 Attack Points!' The warrior's sword glowed brighter as its Attack rose to 3500, 500 points higher than the Attack of his opponent.

'Spell Card activate!' Yuchi continued his assault. '_Mystical Space Typhoon_! I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card you control!'

He observed closely Tenshi's facedown cards. There were two cards, one of which was set at Tenshi's very first turn, and his opponent admitted that it was a '_generic trap_'. The other was set at the last turn. Which one should he choose to destroy?

'Yuchi,' Tenshi said. 'Looks like you are confused about which card to destroy. Think about what I've _just said_.'

'A real duelist does not think about what his next opponent would do and how to counter it. A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his own strategy well in order to face his next opponent,' the words emerged in Yuchi's mind. He knew what they meant, but should he believe in Tenshi's words?

If what Tenshi said was true, then the 'generic trap' he was talking about would benefit him rather than putting Yuchi in danger. But how would it really benefit him?

'It's your_ last turn_ now, Yuchi!' were the words he said after he set his other card. Would the card really cause him to lose?

'Yuchi… _Believe in yourself_,' Kaworu prayed for his best friend.

'I destroy… the card you set at the last turn!' Yuchi pointed to the facedown card on the right. A cyclone appeared and demolished the card into smithereens. The card was _Magic Cylinder_, a Trap Card that would have caused Yuchi to lose Life Points equal to Supernova Angel Knight's Attack Points if he declared an attack with it, hence resulting in Yuchi's loss.

'Impressive,' Tenshi applauded. 'I never thought that you would have understood thoroughly what I've just said…'

'Supernova Angel Knight, attack Berserk Dragon!' Yuchi cried.

'…But would I _really_ let you off?' Tenshi continued off from where he just stopped. Yuchi widened his eyes.

'Continuous Trap Card activate! _Xyz Boost_!' Tenshi declared, revealing his last facedown card. 'With this, one of my Xyz Monsters gain 100 Attack Points for every Rank it has!' Berserk Dragon let out a threatening roar as its Attack Points rose to the same value as Supernova Angel Knight's Attack Points.

A clash between the two monsters ensued. Yuchi grasped on to his D-Wheel tightly as the two monsters engaged in a fierce fight. Supernova Angel Knight tried to pierce through Berserk Dragon's flesh with his sword but the black dragon was swift in escaping attacks. It shot out two fireballs from its gun, however they extinguished before they could reach the white warrior.

Eventually, a bolt of white light emerged between the two monsters, engulfing them and causing them both to disappear. Both Yuchi and Tenshi let out a sigh of relief.

Yuchi looked at his hand once more. The rest of the cards in his hand could not be played.

'I end my turn!' He declared. 'Supernova Angel Knight's effect activates! By removing from play one Fairy-Type monster in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Supernova Angel Knight from the Graveyard!' Yuchi picked out a card from his graveyard slot and placed it into his remove-from-play slot.

'Reverberate! _Supernova Angel Knight_!' shouted Yuchi as the white warrior emerged out of a cluster of stars. His Attack returned to 2500 as Axe of Despair was destroyed along with himself just now.

'_Final_ turn! Draw!' announced Tenshi, who still retained that arrogant smile on his face.

'Yuchi,' Tenshi said. 'Do you seriously think I would use Magic Cylinder just now even if you did not destroy it? Like I said, I won't counter your attack.'

Yuchi frowned. Didn't he just activate Xyz Boost to raise his monster's Attack so that Supernova Angel Knight would be destroyed?

'You think I haven't forgotten your ace monster's effect?' Tenshi smiled.

'Spell Card activate! _Monster Reborn_!' Tenshi played his card. 'I revive Berserk Dragon from my Graveyard!' Lightning flashed and the black dragon emerged out of it.

'I activate the _second_ effect of Xyz Boost in my Graveyard!' announced Tenshi, to the surprise of Yuchi and the audience.

'I remove this card in my Graveyard from play and in return, one Xyz Monster on my Field gains 1000 Attack Points!' Yuchi could not hide his fear. The confidence in his heart just now disappeared to nowhere.

'So that's why he activated Xyz Boost in the first place!' Kaworu realized Tenshi's strategy at last. 'It's not to destroy Supernova Angel Knight, but for this!'

'That's what I meant when I said that I activate my cards to "utilize _my_ strategy well",' Tenshi quoted his own words.

'Yuchi,' Tenshi commented. 'You played well in this duel. Good enough to save this world and its people,' Yuchi's eyes widened at Tenshi's words. What did he mean by this?

'I summon my final monster! _Petite Machine_!' A small robotic monster appeared on Tenshi's field. It had merely 300 Attack Points, but was enough to end Yuchi's Life Points.

Berserk Dragon's Attack Points had already risen to 4000. With a call by Tenshi, flames shot out of its gun, enclosing Supernova Angel Knight in an inferno, burning it to nothing.

But Yuchi could not see, nor could he hear anything. The world was silent for him at that moment. His fate was already sealed. He would taste defeat for the first time in his life.

With another call by Tenshi, the Petite Machine assaulted Yuchi directly and reduced his Life Points to 0.

'Defeated by my rival. With such a _big_ gap in Life Points.' Yuchi could not help but wonder if he was weak. 'Would I be able to fulfill his dreams to save the world with such underling skills? Would I be disgraced for my weak abilities in the future? Would I…?' were the questions overwhelming his mind. He could not think of anything else.

Both D-Wheels abruptly stopped with the conclusion of the duel. Yuchi fell out of his bike and lied motionless on the floor.

'I _was_ a genius. But _not_ now. Not after I had lost, with such a big gap in Life Points,' Yuchi's eyes were still wide open, but he could see nothing. His soul had already traveled to another dimension. A dimension of _losses_. A dimension of _delusions_.

Kaworu sighed. He knew somehow that this duel would not be easy for his friend. In fact, he already knew that Tenshi was a better duelist than Yuchi. Even though Yuchi was the one to summon his Supernova Angel Knight first in the duel three years ago, Tenshi managed to destroy it without Berserk Dragon and even pushed his Life Points down to 1000 when his own Life Points were still full.

It was a fault with the D-Wheels provided by the tournament sponsors that caused the final duel to be canceled, and hence delayed Yuchi's first major loss till today.

Kaworu escaped from the spectators who were still dumbfounded, not knowing what to do after they had seen the genius of their school being thrashed by an outsider in a game of cards. Kaworu rushed to Yuchi's side and tried to wake him up from his delusions.

'Hey, wake up, Yuchi, Hey!' he shook Yuchi's body vigorously.

'Yuchi's friend,' Tenshi called Kaworu, who replied with a bitter face. 'Please give this to him.'

Kaworu received a Duel Monsters card from Tenshi. It had _no_ words or pictures on it. Just a plain, empty card.

He stared at Yuchi's rival silently as he walked away from the stadium.

The drizzles became heavy rain and drenched everyone in the stadium.

* * *

><p>'…'<p>

'…'

'Good afternoon. This is the Sweet and Fruity Smell Shop,' greeted a woman's voice.

Tenshi pressed '0', followed by '1', '8' and another '8' on his cell-phone.

'Thank you for visiting,' said the woman's monotonous voice from the other side of the phone. 'I'll now transfer your call to the_ U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters_.'

'…'

'…'

'Technical Sergeant Tenshi?' greeted an old man's voice.

'Sir, I've defeated _Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai_ as you have predicted,' reported Tenshi respectfully.

'Well done, Technical Sergeant Tenshi. How was the duel?' the old man proceeded with a question that struck Tenshi as unexpected.

'It was…' Tenshi could not find any words to describe his feelings.

'Never mind, Technical Sergeant Tenshi. Report back to the Headquarters after this. _Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid_ will take care of Yuchi Kendai.'

'Yes, sir,' Tenshi shut down his phone.

'…'

'…'

'Master Sergeant First Class Wiles Euclid,' called out the old man from the other side.

'Yes, sir!' reported a young man in a white doctor's robe and black long pants. He looked the same age as Tenshi, but was clearly shorter and wore a pair of half-moon glasses.

'Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai is facing some difficulties after the duel. Help him and bring him back to the Headquarters.'

'Yes, sir!' replied the young man. He swiftly walked away from the old man.

The old man took a seat in his air-conditioned office. On the long white table were two files. One was labeled as '**Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai**', centralized and bolded on the cover. The other was a lot thicker and had a big red cross on the cover. The title read: '**IMPORTANT: PROJECT CLEAR**'.

* * *

><p>Yuchi hid under the dirty, tattered blanket in his bedroom, settled down in a fetal position. He did not wish to see anyone, nor did he want to hear any voice.<p>

This major loss dealt a big blow to him. Not only did it disgrace him in front of the whole school, but it also crushed his hopes to help other people.

'…_Am I weak_?'

He asked himself the same question again and again.

'…'

But nobody answered him.

'…_Can I help anyone_?'

'…'

'Yuchi? Yuchi?' Kaworu, his best friend was banging the door of his house. He tried desperately to meet Yuchi so that he could console him, but failed.

'Yuchi, it's me, Kaworu!' he begged for Yuchi to at least gave him a reply. But it seemed that his best friend could not hear him.

Just an hour ago, he was helping Yuchi home. But as he laid him down on the bed, the feeble teenager uttered in a soft voice: 'go away, Kaworu'.

Kaworu did not want to make his friend angry anymore when he had taken such a emotional impact, so he heeded his words and left him alone. However, just as he stepped out of Yuchi's apartment, he realized that he shouldn't be so irresponsible, and hence returned to the doorstep of his friend's home.

'…I'm no longer a Duel Monsters _genius_…'

'…I'm no longer _useful_…'

'…My friends would leave me one day…'

As Kaworu banged the metal door harder and harder, memories of Yuchi started emerging in his mind. 'No way…' Drops of tears dripped off from the _bishounen_'s eyes. 'YUCHI! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR, PLEASE!'

To Kaworu, Yuchi should not be such a timid person. To him, Yuchi was somebody who had more than one hundred percent confidence in everything he did. 'Maybe the confidence was just a deception,' he deduced. 'Maybe it was to cover his fear of losing.'

He recalled Yuchi's victories in the past. His victories against the Vice-Chancellor since first year of middle school for seventeen times. His victories in the Junior Riding Cup, leading to his position as a finalist. His victories against himself. 'How could you… Yuchi? How could you…?' Kaworu started to cry louder and louder.

'Sorry, Yuchi…' After an hour of futile attempt, Kaworu decided to give up and return to his home. His was already drenched from head to toe from the rain that went into the apartment from the dented roof. All his belongings, his Duel Academy uniform, and his beautiful, white hair.

Yuchi kept on lamenting over his loss under his blanket. It didn't matter anymore to him whether someone would give him a big hug, or whether he could have a _tatami _to relax on. Duel Monsters was all of his life, and losing it meant he had nothing left.

Suddenly, a noise came from out of his room. The sound of the metal door creaking, proceeded with the sound of an adult's footsteps. 'Was it a thief?' he thought. No way could anyone open the door to his house other than someone with the right tools.

He got off from his bed and took a peek outside his bedroom's door. Indeed, it was a thief, masked and black-suited, with a stout build and scars on his forehead, suggesting that he might have broken into the houses of many people before. The thief looked around the house, probably finding things to steal. He sneaked into the kitchen and ran into a few water buckets on the slippery floor, causing a 'knock, knock' sound. Finding nothing, he returned to the main room.

Yuchi was in a dilemma. He did not have any weapons, so the best way to fight against him was with cards, noticing the evil-looking black Duel Disk on his left arm. 'But should I really duel?' he questioned his abilities. 'I've lost once, and my confidence was already gone. I wouldn't win in a situation like this.' He could not just leave the thief to ransack his home either.

He observed the thief's movements. Suddenly the thief froze. A man in white robes pushed the metal door open and marched into the room. Pointing a revolver at the thief, the man commanded in a harsh voice: 'Stop what you are doing.'

The thief could not do anything. Yuchi held his breath as he observed the hero. He had straight, shoulder-length black hair and a handsome look on his face. Inside his long white robe he wore a black shirt with a silver cross pendant and a pair of black long pants. Yuchi guessed that the young man might be a doctor or professor working for an organization of some sort, judging from his clothing and the half-moon glasses he was wearing.

'_Konnichiwa,'_ the man suddenly turned to Yuchi, who had been watching him from a small slit since he entered the house, and greeted him with a smile. Yuchi was taken aback with surprise. The man had actually noticed his presence in the house.

'Now,' continued the man, whose was now smiling at the terrified thief. He showed his identification to the thief. 'I'm a Sector Security officer, but I do not wish to arrest you just yet.'

'I give you two words. Choose one to heed to.' He prepared his revolver for a shot. Retaining the smile on his face, he said to the thief: '_Duel_, or _die_?'

'Ha!' laughed the thief. 'Do you think I would be afraid by your words, Security brat? What do I get if I win?'

The man took out a deck of Duel Monsters cards from his pocket and scattered it on the floor. Both Yuchi and the thief took a look. All of them were highly rare cards, Synchro Monsters such as Trishula, Brionac, and even some Xyz Monsters.

The thief laughed. 'You have a deal, sir.' He set up his Duel Disk.

'Thank you,' the man also set up his Duel Disk.

Out of the blue, he glanced at Yuchi and threw a Duel Monsters card he took out from his robe at him. Yuchi was surprised by the man's move, but he still looked at the card. It was a white card, without any words or illustrations on it.

'Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai,' said the man. 'You forgot _this_.'

'Hey, you brat. Can we start the duel now?' the thief was annoyed by the man's delay.

'Fine to me,' his opponent said.

'_DUEL_!' shouted both duelists, as their Disks lit up.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

Next chapter… It all begins to unfold!

The man's identity, the truth of U.N.D.E.A.D., the robots… Everything!

Don't miss it… _Chapter 4: Dilemma!_

Duel… Standby!

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>

_Supernova Angel Knight_

LIGHT/Level 8/Fairy-Type/Synchro

1 Tuner Monster + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

Effect: During the End Phase of the turn this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can remove from play one other Fairy-Type Monster in your Graveyard to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard in face-up Attack Position. It cannot change its Battle Position and is returned to the Extra Deck when it is removed from the Field.

ATK 2500/DEF 2000

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

It only took me one day to complete this chapter.

That's because I'll be on holiday next week.

And that means there will be a _one-week break_ after Chapter 4 or 5 (depending on how fast I write for the next few days).

So I need to speed up.

Anyway, today I'm going to reveal the _kanji _for the Japanese names in this fanfiction!

Yuchi Kendai is 遊馳 謙代 (The 'chi' means '_Riding at full speed_', symbolizing Yuchi's passion and talent for Riding Duels, 'Kendai' means '_humble generation_')

Tenshi Ryuma is 天子 龍馬 ('Tenshi' is an ancient Chinese term for '_Emperor_', 'Ryuma' means '_dragon-horse_', both of which are powerful creatures)

And the new character is named Wiles Euclid! Who's a Canadian!

Named after Wiles who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, and Euclid, a famous Mathematician in history!

You can deduce that Wiles is actually a very _clever_ person.

That's all for today, remember to review! _Arigatou!_

_- Project M.G._


	4. Chapter 4: Dilemma Pt 1

**_Chapter 4: Dilemma (Pt. 1)_**

Panting, the thief played the final card in his hand.

'I… I summon the _Giga Smasher_,' he said breathlessly. A two-feet tall golem, whose tip of the head nearly touched the ceiling, emerged out of a white ring. Luckily, the wide empty space outside the apartment was enough to accommodate its bulky body size. It was placed in Defense Position, and had a Defense of 2000 Points.

'I… I end my turn.'

'My turn!' his opponent, the man in white robes, smirked in triumph. 'I activate _Dark Hole_! Destroy all the monsters on the Field!' As the name of the card suggested, the only monster on the field was sucked by a miniature black hole and it vanished into an abyss of darkness, its roar never to be heard again.

'Spell Card, _Fusion_,' the man ignored the cries of the pitiful thief, whose fate of defeat was already sealed, and proceeded with his next step of assault.

Yuchi witnessed the duel from the corridor of his apartment in awe. It's only the second turn and the man had already ensured his victory. Normally a 'genius' like himself would take three to four turns to achieve such a feat.

'I send both _Astro Blader Jupiter_ and _Astro Ranger Juno_ to the Graveyard,' the man placed two cards from his hand into the graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. Yuchi's heart was thumping. He knew that something epic was going to appear.

'_Fusion Summon_! Appear now, _Superior Astronomic Fighter_!' The earth trembled and even the ceiling lights in the apartment shook in fear, as a gigantic space monster emerged at the back of the man in white robes. It had a computer screen for a face, displaying weird messages in a pink alien font. Its brown armor shone under the sun, which had finally awoken from its slumbers and provided life to the drenched land.

Superior Astronomic Fighter had merely 2000 Attack Points, which was a low number considering that it was a Level 8 Fusion Monster. But Yuchi knew for sure that it would have a very powerful effect that would allow it to overcome its weakness.

The thief had 3000 Life Points left, meaning that he would still survive if he took the attack from the monster.

'Superior Astronomic Fighter's effect,' the man declared, confirming Yuchi's doubts. 'Take it! _Ultimate Destroyer Beam!'_

The thief's mouth widened as the hideous monster stomped nearer and nearer to him. He did not expect this from the beginning. To him, Security's men were all weak little bastards with no concept of '_dueling_' at all. But his opponent this time was special.

The next thing he knew, he was flying off the ground. Assaulted by the gigantic monster, who was nothing but a hologram. Just a hologram. A freaking hologram!

Yuchi, who had been watching the duel so far, applauded for the great duelist silently. He never thought that he could witness such a magnificent duel in his life.

'You,' the man pointed his revolver at the thief lying on the ground, and proceeded to shoot a bullet into the earth just a few inches away from his head, scaring the thief that he let out a sissyish cry. '… Go away, and don't let me ever see you again.'

'…Y …Yes sir!' screamed the terrified thief. He picked himself up hurriedly and ran away, tripping over a few times before he could completely vanish himself from the vicinity.

The man in white robes looked up to Yuchi and greeted him again with a smile, '_Hajimemashite, _Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai.'

'_H…Hajimemashite,' _Yuchi mumbled the complementary greeting.

'My name is Wiles Euclid. _Master Sergeant_ of the _Neo Domino Air Force_ and a _Pilot_ of _U.N.D.E.A.D._' the man pressed a button on his robe, revealing a holographic identity card.

'S… So you're not a Sector Security member?' Yuchi was surprised by the man's words.

'Of course not,' laughed Wiles. 'I couldn't possibly reveal my true identity, right?'

Yuchi thought so. It was the first time he had met an U.N.D.E.A.D. member, and it was also the first time that he had understood that it was such a secretive organization, completely different from when it was established years ago.

'But why have you come for me?'

'To take you to the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters, of course,' Wiles smiled. 'Didn't you dueled with the person named _Tenshi_ just now?'

'Y… Yes, but how did you know?' asked Yuchi, who was still ignorant about Tenshi's true identity.

'It's the card,' explained Wiles. Yuchi recalled the plain card that Wiles threw to him just now. 'Tenshi gave you that card just now, am I correct?'

'Y… Yes, you are,' Yuchi couldn't stop mumbling his words.

'Great. Bring along that card and I'll take you to the _Headquarters_,' Wiles said. He pressed another button on his robe and a black sports car, in _autopilot_ mode, drove into the empty space where he was. Yuchi had never seen that kind of technology before.

* * *

><p>'Mr. Kendai, I believe you have known what U.N.D.E.A.D. is, correct?'<p>

Wiles, or to be respectful, Master Sergeant Euclid asked Yuchi so as he was driving both of them in his posh sports car.

Yuchi was looking at the view outside the window. Being asked such a question, he quickly turned his head to face Wiles.

'Y… Yes, Master Sergeant Euclid!' Yuchi replied in a formal tone. 'It is an organization serving under the M.R.D. sector of Kaiba Corporation, I believe so.'

'Excellent, Mr. Kendai. Now do you know what's a _Unit_?'

The car sped through an underground tunnel and swerved into the highway.

'I don't quite really understand, but at least I know that it's a robot incorporated with the Duel Monsters system built to protect Neo Domino City from the people who violate the Asimov Treaty.'

'Correction,' replied Wiles. 'We don't call them "_robots_". Other than the basic land machines, many different types of Units have been developed by M.R.D., some can fly in air and some can operate under water. We call them all "_vehicles_". _Vehicles_, simply because they can only move in the various mediums when operated by man.'

'You have quite a substantial amount of knowledge with Units and their affiliated organization, Mr. Kendai,' commented Wiles.

'T… Thank you,' Yuchi blushed. Being praised after losing a duel seemed strange.

Strangely, Yuchi wasn't particularly excited or nervous about being introduced to the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. 'It is supposed to be my _dream_, but why isn't my heart thumping at the very least?' Yuchi asked himself, putting his right hand on the left side of his chest.

'Nervous?' Wiles asked.

'N… Not really.'

'Losing your confidence after the duel with Tenshi, Mr. Kendai?'

'N… Not really,' Yuchi knew that what he had just said were all blatant lies. How could he have not lost all his confidence after losing the duel? He didn't want to duel anymore after what had happened.

The car sped through the highway, past a few shops and tall buildings. The city was getting more and more prosperous, as many construction sites were set up along the highway. Yuchi wondered where could the Headquarters be at. The Kaiba Corporation tower? That would be too obvious for such a secretive organization. But there weren't other places that could fit it either.

Finally the car stopped before what looked like a big shop. On the signboard it said '_Sweet and Fruity Smell Shop_'. Yuchi thought about what would it possibly sell.

Wiles braked his car and pressed the big black button to his right. A holographic screen jumped out in front of both of them. A woman's voice asked, 'Welcome to Sweet and Fruity Smell Shop. Please enter your _password_.'

Yuchi was confused. What _password_? He looked at the shop. It was just an ordinary shop, and a few customers were even choosing the merchandise sold.

Wiles took out a small calculator-like device from his pocket, and pressed the numbers '0', '1', '0', '1', followed by the button 'enter'.

'Password confirmed. Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid. Please enter the password for the other person,' said the woman's voice.

'Mr. Kendai, looked at the card Tenshi gave you,' Yuchi immediately took out the card and scrutinized it. He found a string of words printed on it with small silver font that said, '_Password: 0231_'.

'Take this, and input the password printed on the card,' Wiles handed to Yuchi the device. The latter keyed in the numbers as stated.

'Password confirmed. Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai. Please enter through the _backdoor_.'

Yuchi was even more confused. _Backdoor_? Was that where U.N.D.E.A.D. would be? In such a shop?

'Don't worry, it would surely surprise you,' assured Wiles. He drove his car round the shop and reached its backyard. A big metal gate was located at the back of the shop, enough to fit a car through it.

The gate somehow sensed the presence of the car and automatically creaked open. Wiles drove the car through the gate and into the 'shop'.

'The shop is just a cover,' explained Wiles.

'But wouldn't anyone have noticed it?' asked Yuchi, who was curious about how the U.N.D.E.A.D. system worked.

Wiles let out a small cackle. '_Watch_,' he said to Yuchi.

The inside of the 'shop' was pitch black, contrary to what Yuchi just saw at the front. The woman who made the voice just now suddenly emerged in the holographic screen and greeted both of them. 'Good afternoon, gentlemen. Welcome to U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. This is the _lift_.'

Yuchi was astonished. _Lift_? Did she mean that the Headquarters were located _underground_?

'Please select the level you wish to go,' continued the woman.

'Underground Level, sixteen. Password:_ Lupine Almighty_,' said Wiles.

'Thank you. Underground Level Sixteen, _U.N.D.E.A.D. Commanding Centre_,' said the woman.

The lift suddenly creaked and moved downwards, sending the car to the underground levels. Like the 'back' of the 'shop', nothing could be seen in the first few levels underground. There were no lighting facilities at all. The surroundings were pitch black, much like inside Yuchi's apartment at midnight.

'These levels are mainly used for security purposes,' Wiles explained the question in Yuchi's mind. 'There are _surveillance bots_ hidden around here, all monitoring the actions of the people boarding this lift,' he said, pointing to the dark surroundings. Yuchi could imagine the robots watching him from all sides, armed with weapons, ready to shoot him down if he tried to do anything funny.

The lift moved further downwards.

At level six underground, everything could finally be seen. Yuchi gasped in awe as the magnificence of the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters came to light for him. He originally thought the Headquarters would be, at most, some sort of _skyscraper_ build underground. But he was wrong.

Rather than 'Headquarters', '_Fortress_' would be a much suitable term to describe what Yuchi was seeing. What entered his eyes was just, in a word, massive. Under Neo Domino City could he never imagine that there was such a manmade space, miles _deep_ and _wide_. The space had the shape of a semicircle, with the curved edge downwards. At the base below was the real '_skyscraper_' that Yuchi had imagined. The tower reached high above the cloudless 'sky', almost touching the rigid ceiling of the manmade space that separated the ground above from there.

The black sports car was literally hanging on the 'sky'. The lift changed its course, from going _downwards_ to going _diagonally_, transferring the car along a long moving belt that would eventually lead to the topmost floor of the tower in the centre of the space. Unlike the previous levels, the space was brightly lit, contributed by not only the lights from the tower itself but also the gigantic yellow spotlights that hanged on the walls and ceilings of the space.

Yuchi heard the sound of metal chains creaking as the belt moved along its way to transport the lift and the car on it. But the noise did not care him so much. The epic underground space had already overwhelmed his thoughts.

'Mr. Kendai, that tower,' Wiles pointed to the tall structure, 'is the _true_ U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. It's where all the Units owned by Neo Domino City are built and stationed there.'

'Master Sergeant Euclid,' Yuchi replied. 'What are those drone-like things outside the Headquarters?' He was referring to the machines that seemed to be flying round and round the tower.

'Oh, you mean the _Air-Medium Units_? Those are the Units that are specially developed to operate in air. I think they are having a test flight now. You know, we can't possibly let them fly on the airs of Neo Domino City in case something like decades ago happens again.'

Yuchi understood what Wiles meant. Around that time, the Units were still newly developed, and much media coverage of them followed. However, it seemed that U.S.A. and China somehow got hold of M.R.D.'s highly confidential technology, and they started to build their own Units too. Since then, news about the Units became less and less.

'That's why the United Nations initiated the _Asimov Treaty_,' followed-up Wiles. 'To prevent any country from using the Units for war purposes.'

Which meant that by the Asimov Treaty, countries could only use the Units for _self-defense_.

'See below,' Wiles suggested Yuchi to look at the base of the tower. He saw the Units, those 'robots' that he had seen on newspapers, heard in school, watched on old Mr. John's television.

Two Units were marching around the base of the tower. Their lightweight design and small body size suggested why they could move so fast on land.

'Powered by the "Fortune" Reactor above the land,' Wiles explained to Yuchi a fact that he had already known.

'You mean… the one built by the _late_ Professor Yusei Fudo?' Yuchi reconfirmed his knowledge.

'Exactly.'

Fifty years ago, Professor Yusei Fudo saved the city from two massive disasters that would have wiped out the whole of Neo Domino City. After that, he built the 'Fortune' Momentum Reactor together with a team of scientists to save the city from destruction. Thanks to that achievement, Neo Domino City had an _endless_ supply of energy ever since.

The lift slowly reached the tower and changed its course again, moving down the tower this time. As it moved down each storey of the tower, the woman's voice in the holographic screen informed them of its contents.

'Underground Level Thirteen. _Weapon and Firearm Research Centre_.' Yuchi heard a few vague 'zap' sounds coming out of the large glass door, followed by a man's shriek of '_Eureka_!'

'That's _Sir Bowman_, the lead scientist of that department who invents something new everyday. Will introduce you to him afterwards,' explained Wiles. Yuchi was reminded of his mad Professor Bonaparte in his school and let out a short giggle.

'Underground Level Fourteen. _Canteen and Staff Lounge_.'

'That's where all of U.N.D.E.A.D.'s people have their meals and relax everyday.'

'Underground Level Fifteen. _Medical Wards and Rehabilitation Centre_.'

…

'Underground Level Sixteen. _Commanding Centre_.' The lift stopped with a clear tingling sound. A creaking noise was then heard and the glass door leading into the tower slid open, revealing a narrow corridor that could fit only a few people through.

'Please leave your vehicle _here_,' said the woman's voice.

'Let's go, Mr. Kendai.' Wiles extinguished the engine of his car and both he and Yuchi got off it. They stepped out of the wide metal platform, through the glass door and into the tower. A creaking noise was heard again and the lift and the car moved further downwards.

'The lift will take care of the car, don't worry,' assured Wiles.

'Master Sergeant Wiles,' Yuchi wished to ask him a question, 'what happens if another vehicle wants to enter through that shop?'

'Oh, don't worry, see that?' Wiles pointed to a vertical belt further away from the one that they just got off. It reached to the topmost level of the space and was somehow connected to the other diagonal belt.

'We don't have only one lift. In fact, there are _many_ of those moving platforms. That structure, transports the _empty_ platforms that went downwards back up to _Underground Level One,_' Wiles explained.

'Wouldn't it be pretty obvious if many vehicles got into the back of the shop all at once?'

'Not really. U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters has a quota that limits the number of vehicles coming in through that entrance every period of time. Once the quota is reached, no more new lifts will be provided.'

'What about people? And goods?' Yuchi needed to disguise his lack of confidence with enthusiasm in front of his idol, an U.N.D.E.A.D. member.

'Oh, we have another lift for human beings and goods. It's just right at the other side of the Headquarters, straight down this corridor,' Wiles turned to face the interior of the tower, making it easier for him to explain.

'Anyway, time's running out, so we better get going,' Wiles looked at his watch and realized that he had been wasting too much time on the subject of lifts. He ushered Yuchi to follow him along the corridor.

Yuchi looked around his surroundings as he walked along the corridor. Everything was white and clean: the walls, the ceilings, the floor. It looked as if every corner in the long pathway was fitted with white lights, as it was so luminous there.

'So unlike my house,' he thought to himself. 'But am I really worthy enough to walk along here? My abilities are so _poor_.'

* * *

><p>The button was pressed. That <em>red<em>, _glowing_ button on the right side of the control panel.

'You know, my dear _Fate_?' asked a young girl's sharp voice.

'Yes, my _Mistress_?' replied the deep, hoarse voice of a shadowy figure.

'Red means _dangerous_, am I correct?'

'Exactly, my Mistress,' bowed the shadowy figure. 'As soon as this red button is pressed, our very own _Darkness Units_ will hit towards Neo Domino City, and…'

'And what, my dear Fate?'

'…and I'm afraid that the whole world would belong to you then, my Mistress. Everything will go according to the laws set by your father, my Mistress.'

He cleared his throat, and proceeded, 'our great king, the creator of _Al-Magnum_.'

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

In the next chapter, Yuchi will be faced with two choices!

It's indeed a difficult choice to make!

What will he choose?

In the next chapter, two new characters will also debut!

One is a girl and another is an old man!

Who are they?

Don't miss the exciting _Chapter 5: Dilemma (Pt. 2)!_

Unit, Launch!

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>

_Empty Duel Monsters Card_

The entry pass to U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters.

Password: 0231

Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

This chapter took a bit longer to finish than Chapter 3, although I did promise that I would speed up.

It took me many hours to come up with a description of the underground space.

In fact, I rewatched Episode One of _Neon Genesis Evangelion _to get the inspiration for the design.

Yeah, if you haven't realized yet, there already _have been_ and there _will be_ more references to that awesome mecha anime.

One is Yuchi's friend. _Kaworu Ikari_. You found it?

Another is the focus on the psychology of the characters. Yuchi's fear of losing. Kaworu's concern towards his best friend.

But this is not a crossover fanfiction. Mirai no Sekai will still have an original story, I assure.

Anyway, today the main villains finally appeared. _Al-Magnum._

The name, _Al-Magnum,_ is a combination of the initial 'Al-' from 'Al-Qaeda' and 'Magnum' from 'Magnum Opus'.

That's all for this chapter. Remember to review, _Arigatou!_

_- Project M.G._


	5. Chapter 5: Dilemma Pt 2

**_Chapter 5: Dilemma (Pt. 2)_**

'Candidate Kendai, please decide.'

A drop of perspiration, as big as a pea, dripped off Yuchi's chin. He couldn't help but feel a chill running down his spine. It was a choice that would determine his life for at least the next ten years, a choice that would change his destiny. It was only natural that he was nervous about the next sentence coming out of his mouth.

He clenched his fist tightly and turned his head to look at the big holographic screen in the commanding centre. Two Units – one blue and one purple, were dashing through the city. Their continuous stomping actions left behind big craters on the ground and caused much damage to the streets in the city, but fortunately there were no people out there. All of the residents in the city had been evacuated to the nearby facilities.

Miles away from the large humanoids were five other Units, all black and had a distinct design from the humanoids. 'Zombonoid' would be a more fitting name for these black 'vehicles', as they seemed to look more like a living dead, hideous and ugly, rather than a proper human being. They were motionless, standing still in a neat row as if they were waiting for the colored Units to arrive before them.

'Technical Sergeant Tenshi, fire at the first Darkness Unit,' commanded the old man in front of Yuchi. A typical military commanding officer, he had a stern look on his face with a few furrows in his brow. His short hair was completely white suggesting that he might have tons of experience serving the military. He wore a light green military long coat with a white shirt and a black tie inside as well as a pair of dark green pants. A number of silver badges were hanging on his chest. His nametag read 'Lupine Hevesy'.

'Roger,' replied Tenshi, who proceeded to press a button on the control column. The blue humanoid abruptly halted and its left arm swiftly moved up, pointing towards the direction of the first black Unit in the row. Then suddenly its arm changed form. The palm and its fingers clenched into a fist shape and closed back into the arm. It now looked more like the tube part of a gun. Without hesitation, Tenshi pressed the second button and the 'arm' fired at the black Unit. There was a continuous banging sound and Yuchi could see the fire-sparks shooting right out of the blue 'arm'.

One of the bullets hit the target but did not cause much damage to it. Instead, it caused the five black zombonoids to retaliate. They started to rush towards the U.N.D.E.A.D. Units in lightning speed. The latter had stopped under the old man's command while Tenshi was attacking.

'Technical Officer Maya,' commanded Lupine, 'Initiate Clause No. 11 of the United Nations Asimov Treaty.'

Yuchi was confused. Didn't the Asimov Treaty only have ten clauses?

'Roger!' replied a young woman in front of the big holographic screen. Her task was to work on the many keyboards and control panels right under her fingers.

'Clause No. 11 initiated. Forcing all Units in Section M3 into Duel Mode,' announced a voice.

A large white ring enclosed all the seven Units in the region. They all suddenly stopped moving; they stayed frozen in their respective positions. Then, immediately the Units all changed forms. Their armor shrank along with their bodies, revealing the pilots inside them. The Units no longer looked like mechanical human beings nor zombies, they had morphed into merely exoskeletons that acted as protection for the pilots sitting on them. Now they were just a little taller than two men standing on top of one another, a stark difference from their original height of about a few thousand feet.

'Duel Mode set up. Default configuration selected for own Units. Drawing the Duel Lanes,' announced the same voice.

Yuchi looked at another screen in the commanding centre, he was perspiring profusely and his heart was thumping strongly. It was a two-dimensional map of the whole Neo Domino City. Two new yellow lines emerged on the purple map. One was labeled 'WILES' and the other was labeled 'TENSHI'.

'Duel Lanes drawn. Unit Type Three will battle Enemy Unit A and B. Duelist: Pilot Tenshi Ryuma. Unit Type Two will battle Enemy Unit C, D and E. Duelist: Pilot Wiles Euclid. Transferring duelist data to Duel Lanes.'

'Now, Candidate Kendai,' Lupine turned to Yuchi and asked, 'would you like to help save the city?'

'…But why me?' retorted Yuchi.

'Because you can do it,' said Lupine.

* * *

><p><em>...Twenty minutes ago.<em>

Wiles led Yuchi along the white corridor they had just landed on. They reached a room with a big white door. The golden plate on the door read: 'Commanding Centre'.

'Mr. Kendai, please place your ID card on this,' Wiles pointed to a strange device with a red, blinking light on it. Yuchi covered the light with the front of the plain Duel Monsters card he had been holding on for hours. The device seemed to understand his actions and replied with a 'ting' sound. The white door swung open and both of them stepped inside.

'Sir, this is Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai,' Wiles introduced Yuchi to the old man named Lupine Hevesy, who welcomed both of them at the entrance of the commanding centre with a smile.

Wiles then turned to Yuchi and introduced Lupine to him, 'Mr. Kendai, this is Commander Lupine Hevesy.'

'…_Hajimemashite,'_ Yuchi greeted.

'Welcome, Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai. I believe you have known that this is the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters, am I correct?'

'…Yes, Commander Hevesy,' Yuchi replied shyly. He had never met someone of such a high authority before.

'…But… Candidate? What does it mean?' Yuchi asked.

'Ho-ho,' laughed Lupine with a deep and loud voice. 'It means that you are selected to become a Pilot of U.N.D.E.A.D.!'

'Congratulations, Mr. Kendai,' added Wiles.

'…Me?' Yuchi was neither enthusiastic nor elated about the news. He was rather bemused. 'But… How did you choose me?'

'The duel just now, it was a test,' interrupted a voice from behind. Yuchi turned over to look at his back. It was Tenshi.

'T…T… Tenshi?' Yuchi jerked as he encountered with his black-suited rival who had just defeated him.

'It's Technical Sergeant Tenshi, Mr. Kendai. We are at the Headquarters now,' reminded Wiles.

'S…Sorry, Technical Sergeant Tenshi,' Yuchi apologized for his mistake. 'But… didn't I lose the duel?'

'I never said that U.N.D.E.A.D. would not recruit you if you lose the duel,' Tenshi corrected in his same arrogant tone. 'Remember my final words with you?'

Yuchi recalled it. 'You played well in this duel. Good enough to save the city and its people.' So that's what he meant!

Tenshi let out a smirk, greeted Wiles and Lupine, and walked away.

'But what kind of test, since it did not gauge my dueling skills at all?' Yuchi thought.

'Anyway, let's move on with introducing you the Headquarters, starting off with the Commanding Centre, and…' Lupine was suddenly interrupted by the wailing of a siren and the flashing of red lights.

'Sir, our spy planes have detected the appearance of five Darkness Units! They are currently heading towards Section M3 of the city!' shouted an administrator working with one of the computers in the commanding centre.

'Looks like there are here,' whispered Lupine. The kind smile on his face had already disappeared and was replaced with a frown. 'What about the Neo Domino Self-Defense Forces?' he inquired loud and clear.

'Sir, the Army sent out five AG-5700 tanks but were destroyed by the Darkness Units!' replied the same administrator. Yuchi raised his eyebrows. He had read it once on the newspaper that the AG-5700 tanks were equipped with some of the most powerful weapons and had one of the best defense technology among all the giant warfare tanks, but for it to be destroyed would mean that the Darkness Units were actually quite strong.

'Inform the Japan Government of the situation and declare Emergency State. Evacuate all the residents from Region M3 to Region A3,' commanded Lupine.

'Roger!'

'Prepare the Unit Types Two and Three in Battle Mode. Pilots Tenshi Ryuma and Wiles Euclid!'

'Sir!' Tenshi marched to face Lupine along with Wiles, prepared to receive orders from him.

'Pilot Wiles, you will operate Unit Type Two, while Pilot Tenshi will operate Unit Type Three. Change immediately after this and assemble at the Departure Hall at 1715. Your Units will take off at 1720,' instructed Lupine to the two pilots.

'Roger!' shouted the two pilots accordingly, and they left the commanding centre, heading towards the male changing room.

Yuchi thought that this might be the worst and best day of his life ever. Less than five hours ago, he was defeated by his rival and now, he was actually going to witness a real demonstration of the Units that he had yearned to pilot for years.

'But do I really have the skills to drive it? Am I weak? Is this a good chance for me?' He kept asking himself.

'Now then…' Lupine had finished with his orders and he turned his head to look at Yuchi. He asked with the grin returning to his face, 'Candidate Kendai, would you like to pilot a Unit?'

'P… Pardon?' Yuchi could not believe what he just heard.

'This will be a good opportunity for you to try out piloting a Unit, as a potential member of the U.N.D.E.A.D.,' the old commander rephrased what he had just said.

'B… But, this is an emergency situation! How can you just let a beginner do this?' complained Yuchi.

'Candidate Kendai, please believe in yourself.'

'How can I believe in myself? I lost the duel with Tenshi, and…'

'Like what Technical Sergeant Tenshi said, it wasn't a test for you to gauge your skills,' Lupine reiterated Tenshi's words. 'We are already certain with your skills before the duel.'

'Then… what is it for?' Yuchi slightly calmed down.

Lupine ignored Yuchi's question. He was busy with ordering his people around to perform their respective tasks. Typical of what a Commander would do under such circumstances.

'Technical Officer Maya!' he called out.

'Yes, Sir!' replied the young woman.

'Put the Units in Standby Mode at the Departure Hall, Stations A3 and A4. Prepare for launch anytime as soon as the pilots enter the Control Chambers.'

'Roger!'

'Sir, Pilots Tenshi and Wiles have already entered the Control Chambers!' reported an officer who seemed to be working under Maya.

'Good. Let me communicate with the pilots,' he ordered.

The big holographic screen at the centre of the large white room changed from showing the camera recording of the Darkness Units approaching Neo Domino City to a video call with both the pilots.

'Sir!' reported both Tenshi and Wiles. They were already fully dressed in their uniforms, which consisted of a close-fitting plug suit and a helmet. Wiles had took off his half-moon glasses and replaced it with a pair of goggles.

'Pilots Tenshi and Wiles,' Lupine started to speak, 'this mission is very different from what I have taught you both. For now, just run towards the Darkness Units in full speed before I give you any further instructions.'

'Roger!'

'Launch the Units!' Lupine commanded Technical Officer Maya.

'Roger!' Maya obeyed, pressing two buttons on the control panel to her left. Yuchi could hear the sound of something moving very quickly from outside the tower, it was loud at first but it gradually diminished.

'Now… Candidate Kendai, would you like to help them?' Lupine turned to Yuchi and inquired.

'Me…?' Yuchi could not speak anything more.

'Yes. Candidate Kendai, please decide,' he put on his smile again.

* * *

><p>Yuchi pushed the big door in front of him. He passed through the door and walked along the rocky path that would lead him to the light beyond.<p>

'Where am I? Aren't I at the Headquarters?' he asked himself.

Yuchi took one step after another, plodding towards the light not far away. He was sure that it was a place he had never seen before. Aside from the brown stone road he was stepping on, the rest of his surroundings were white. Luminous, it should be said.

Yuchi reached his destination. He was blinded by the light that engulfed him. Its intensity became stronger and stronger. He realized that he was being taken by the light towards another place.

The light suddenly stopped shining and Yuchi regained his vision. He was indeed at another location. The surroundings were black and white.

Yuchi suddenly remembered where he was. He was at the bedroom of his apartment, but the apartment was not his current one. There were fewer newspaper cutouts scattered around the floor. His bed was clearly cleaner and the wardrobe was not as dented.

Yuchi noticed a younger himself leaning against the wall of his bedroom. He tried to call out to him but failed. The younger Yuchi was busy reading a newspaper cutout. He was smiling at something.

There was a knock at the door and the younger Yuchi asked, 'who?'

'It's me, Kaworu,' a younger version of Yuchi's silver-haired friend opened the door to reveal himself. 'What are you smiling at, Yuchi?'

'Oh, this,' the other Yuchi walked over to Kaworu and showed him the newspaper cutout he was reading.

'You mean your dreams, Yuchi? To enter U.N.D.E.A.D.?' Kaworu also couldn't help but grin at reading the cutout.

'Yeah. You think I can do it?'

'Yuchi,' Kaworu said to his friend, with the tone of an old woman, 'I am sure you can do it. After all, you are a dueling genius, aren't you?' He laughed.

'You are sure?'

'Yes. 101% sure.'

'Thanks, pal.'

Another light engulfed the older Yuchi and he was transferred to the current time. He was back at the Headquarters.

Yuchi had an epiphany. He realized that everyone around him was sure he could become an U.N.D.E.A.D. pilot. Kaworu, Lupine, Wiles… Even Tenshi, who was not so direct with his words.

'It was only me. I was useless. I took my loss too seriously. I thought the loss would signify the end of myself already.'

Lupine looked at Yuchi and let out a smile.

'Am I strong?' He changed the phrasing of his previous question and asked himself.

'Yes,' replied Wiles' voice in his head.

'Can I pilot the Unit?'

'Yes,' replied Lupine's voice in his head.

'Yuchi, believe in yourself,' added Kaworu's voice in his head.

Yuchi gradually picked up what he had just lost. His courage. His confidence. His optimism. His satisfaction with himself. Taking in a deep breath, he said confidently to Lupine:

'I want to pilot a Unit.'

* * *

><p>'My Mistress,' reported the shadowy figure named Fate. 'It seems that U.N.D.E.A.D. has initiated their counter-attack against our Darkness Units.'<p>

'You mean that Clause Eleven of Asimov Treaty has been put in effect?' replied the young girl.

'I'm afraid so, my Mistress.'

'As written by Soteria's script,' the young girl was sitting on her throne, grinning evilly as she watched the battle began from the screen in front of her.

'Fate.'

'Yes, my Mistress?'

'Make an urgent call to Soteria. Tell them that in order to carry out Step Two of their plan, we would need more funds.'

'Yes, I understand. I'll immediately look to that. By the way, my Mistress.'

'Hmm?'

'…Nothing. Please enjoy the battle, my Mistress,' Fate took back what he had wanted to speak. He stepped backwards and disappeared into the door at the back of the dark room.

'Father King…' the young girl whispered to herself sadly. 'Please rest in peace. Your daughter will surely win the battle.'

* * *

><p>It was twenty-five past five. A plane from Munich, Germany had just landed safely at Nagoya International Airport, a hundred miles away from Neo Domino City. It was a small plane, as it served only certain personnel related to the military. Such as Master Sergeant Amaya Suzuki of the Neo Domino Self-Defense Force.<p>

Amaya stepped out of the deck and strolled like a rich lady into the Arrival Hall. She had long, beautiful brown hair and a fair complexion. Wearing a pair of sunglasses and a mask on her face, nobody could recognize her look. Contrary to her identity as a young girl working for the military force, Amaya boasted an extravagant white silk dress and a pair of branded high-heels.

She entered the Arrival Hall proudly and pulled her luggage away. She walked passed columns and columns of counters, ignoring the expressions of the people who seemed to be observing her.

Amaya didn't need to bear with hours of waiting at those counters. She had the backing up of not one, not two, but three military organizations. Tugging her heavy luggage, she sauntered to the counter at the furthest end of the row, with a sign on it that said 'V.I.P.'

She presented her passport to the lady at the counter, then waited at the chair at the side in a sitting position that suggested she was impatient. The lady scanned her passport into a computer and within seconds, Amaya was free.

Buying a cup of coffee at the vending machine, Amaya took the opportunity to glance at the many information boards outside the Arrival Hall. One of them attracted her attention. As a resident of Neo Domino City who had not returned to her hometown for months, she was very interested in any issues concerning it. Appropriately, the title of the article on that information board read, 'Neo Domino City invaded by unknown machines'.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

Yuchi finally had the chance to pilot his Unit!

He battled with one of the enemies in a Unit Duel!

Yuchi summoned his ace monster, but it was...?

The mysterious girl named Amaya arrived at the Headquarters.

What did she have to do with U.N.D.E.A.D.?

Next chapter… _Chapter 6: Fight!_

Unit, Launch!

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>

There are no featured cards this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

**A Note From the Author**

Initially, I planned _Dilemma _to be just one chapter long.

But, due to certain circumstances (one most obvious is lengthy descriptions) I have to split it up into two chapters.

I added in some other details which were not in my original plan.

For example, the early appearance of the young girl named Amaya Suzuki.

She was originally scheduled to appear in the current Chapter 7 only.

Next chapter will feature another full-length duel!

It's Yuchi VS the Darkness Unit, so don't miss it next week!

Please remember to review after reading too, _Arigatou!_

_-Project M.G._

* * *

><p><em><strong><strong>_**Special Announcement**

In celebration of Christmas Day, there will be a special chapter of M.S.!

It will be published along with either Chapter 8 or 9.


	6. Chapter 6: Fight

**_Chapter 6: Fight_**

Yuchi was sweating profusely. Not only because the latex suit he was wearing was hot and stuffy, but also due to the fact that he was _nervous_. Never had he felt such an overwhelming sense of responsibility burdening him. He was about to duel one of the Darkness Units, to save the city from its imminent destruction.

He grasped the controller tightly and remained firmly seated in the narrow chamber, waiting for Commander Lupine to give his next instruction. He was baffled. Just five hours ago, he had lost all his confidence in a Riding Duel against his fellow colleague. And five minutes ago, he regained all his confidence. Today was a day filled with twists and uncertainties for him. He did not want to imagine what he would face later. Probably there would be another _trap_ waiting for him.

'Unit will be launched from Station A3. Default configuration selected,' a voice from one of the devices surrounding him informed.

'Let's go,' Yuchi whispered to himself.

'Pilot Kendai, are you ready?' Commander Lupine's face popped out in a screen and asked him.

'N… No problem, Sir!'

'Excellent. Launch the Units!' Commander Lupine seemed happy. The old man was putting on his kind smile once again.

'Unit will be launched in 5…' announced the device's voice.

'4…'

'3… 2…'

'1…'

A siren wailed from outside the Unit and in less than_ one-tenth_ of a second, Yuchi and his vehicle was shot up into a long tunnel. It was the first time that Yuchi had ever tasted the feeling of '_defying gravity_'. Yuchi felt as if his body was weightless and he was being pushed by something upwards at lightning speed. It was like sitting in a lift that was ascending, only much quicker. He made sure his seat belt was buckled tightly as a mistake anytime would cost his life.

'Changing course. Heading towards _Duel Lane_.'

As the voice announced, Yuchi felt his body was pulled towards the diagonal side. His Unit was accelerating in another direction to another place. It was so fast that it appeared that Yuchi who was being carried along could not sense any changes around him at all. This millisecond, there was a red light flickering outside his Unit and next millisecond, it was a green light. Everything seemed so frenetic.

After about a minute, the Unit started to slow down. Yuchi could see from the window of his seat that there was a bright white light nearing him. He was sure that he was approaching land. He wondered what the Duel Lane would be like. Would it be the same as the highways during lessons for Riding Duels?

The Unit entered the white light, blinding Yuchi's eyes. When he regained consciousness, he was stunned by what he was seeing. He did not step onto the land at all. Both him and his Unit were _mid-ai_r, on what seemed to be a holographic '_road_', with no support on the ground. 'Is this a dream?' he thought to himself. Such technology could not possibly exist in his mind. '_Solid_ holograms?' He was bewildered.

'Enemy Unit detected. _Clause Eleven_ of Asimov Treaty in effect. Switching into _Duel Mode_.'

Yuchi's Unit swiftly shrank into its miniature form. No longer did Yuchi have to endure being stuffed inside a narrow space with those gadgets and cables surrounding him. The ceiling over his head closed away, exposing him to the evening sunshine. The computer screens and panels in front of and beside him folded up and compressed into a large processor unit. A Duel Disk popped out of the device.

'Duel Mode activated. Pilot, please input your Deck.'

Yuchi glanced left and right. The 'road' seemed fairly wide, with enough space to hold at three to four Units without anyone toppling down to the ground below. He turned his head and focused to his front.

Something was approaching him. As it grew bigger and bigger, Yuchi could clearly see that it was a black Unit with a hideous design. It was one of the 'zombonoid' he witnessed Tenshi and Wiles fighting back then. According to the commander, it was codenamed 'Enemy E'.

The black Unit was leaping from the top of one skyscraper to another. Its destination, like the other enemy Units, was the Duel Lanes with the heroes' Units there.

On top of the enemy Unit sat a teenager. Yuchi deduced that he might be the same age as him and Kaworu. Yuchi also noticed that his eyes were unusual. They were completely _black_, they had no sign of life at all. He sat emotionless in his Unit, his pale face suggesting that he was sick or some spirit of sort possessed him.

The black Unit suddenly took a big jump and landed safely onto the hologram. It accelerated in Yuchi's direction and swerved to pause beside him. Yuchi observed the teenager. He looked as if he did not want to be involved in his job at all.

'Hey, you!' Yuchi shouted out to his foe. But he did not give any reply.

'Pilot, please input your Deck,' the program's voice repeated. Yuchi realized that all he could do right now was to duel the teenager and save him. He took out his deck from his pocket confidently and inserted it into his Duel Disk.

'Don't worry, I'm going to save you!' he thought. Right now, rescuing a person was his top priority. He did not want to let his earlier loss, nor his nauseous feeling after the ride to the ground affect his performance.

'Deck confirmed. Both Pilots are authorized for dueling. Unit Duel will initiate in one minute.'

'Pilot Kendai,' Commander Lupine's face suddenly emerged out of a holographic screen, 'just relax. The rules for the Unit Duel and the _same_ as your Riding Duel or Ground Duel. I believe you can win this battle.'

'Thank you, sir,' Yuchi was a little touched by his employer's words.

'Pilots, you may start the Duel now.'

He wiped away his sweat and declared along with his foe: '_DUEL_!'

* * *

><p>'Clause No. 11: A Unit Duel may be forcefully initiated under circumstances that the enemy refuses to abide by the laws as stated in Clauses One to Ten.'<p>

'Commander Lupine, are you sure you want to let Candidate Yuchi Kendai, who has no prior training, needless to say, battle experience, to duel the enemy Unit?'

'Exactly. Furthermore, he had just _lost_ a duel with one of our pilots, hadn't he?'

The room was dark. Although a table lamp was switched on, it was only bright enough to clearly see the face of one man. Commander Lupine Hevesy was sitting in the middle of the room, around him were five other people whose identities were unknown.

He looked solemn. Refusing to answer the previous questions, he took a deep breath and continued to listen to what the other people had to say.

'But I think Commander Lupine has done the _correct_ thing,' said a woman's voice.

Commander Lupine remained silent even as he was praised.

'Oh? Can you please clarify?'

'Right now, our main priority is the_ Project Clear_,' said a deep voice from behind Commander Lupine.

'Sir _Neo_, oh my, good evening,' greeted the person who questioned Commander Lupine just now.

'Sir Neo, I'm really sorry about my hasty decision…' the person who had been remaining silent all along finally took the chance to speak.

'No need to be sorry, Commander,' said the deep voice.

He coughed for a few seconds, and continued, 'the _Testament_ has already explained it all. Candidate Kendai must learn how to fight now, or else it would be too late. He is the _key_ of mankind's survival, the _hope_ that will shine in the darkness…'

'Yes, I understand, sir,' all the other people said in unison.

* * *

><p>'<em>I overlay both my Level 5 monsters on the Field!<em>' declared Tenshi. '_With two of my monsters, I construct the Overlay Network_!'

Thunder roared and lightning flashed in the sky. The world was about to behold Tenshi's magnificent dragon once more.

'Xyz Summon! Destroy everything in your path, _Berserk Dragon_!'

Tenshi smiled proudly. The enemies this time were not as difficult as last time after all. It would be a piece of cake for him to crush them all.

He turned his head to observe the Duel Lane further away. On that Duel Lane, his new colleague, the loser Yuchi Kendai, was beginning to duel one of the enemy Units.

Both Units were racing on the green digital track. Just like in a Riding Duel, except that the Units were at least a few times quicker than a D-Wheel.

'Please allow me to go first,' requested Yuchi to the emotionless enemy pilot. He grasped on to his controller tightly. Thankfully, there was a slot on his Unit to hold the five cards he just drew from his Deck so that they would not be blown away. Although the afternoon rain had stopped, the wind was still gushing strongly.

'Please do,' the emotionless teenage boy murmured. Yuchi noticed that his lips had barely moved at all.

'My turn! I Special Summon the Level 2 monster,_ Star Gazer_!'

A new monster emerged out of a white glowing ring. As it name implied, it was a small genie with a cluster of small, yellow stars enclosing it. Its four tiny wings flapped vigorously, as if it was happy at being summoned by its master.

'When I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Star Gazer from my hand,' Yuchi explained.

'Next! I tribute my Star Gazer to Advance Summon the Level 5 _Sapphire Angel_!' Star Gazer bowed and glowed brightly, vanishing into the light the very next second. Yuchi's blue fairy monster emerged.

'I activate Sapphire Angel's effect! I can draw one card from my Deck!' Yuchi pulled out a card from his deck holder and inserted it into the slot on his Unit.

'I set one card and end my turn.'

'My turn,' the enemy announced the start of his assault monotonously. 'Level 4, _Nightmare Wonder_, Normal Summon.'

When the teenager played his card on the Duel Disk, he suddenly let out a loud shriek. His body twisted and turned. He seemed to be struggling against something. Yuchi believed that he must be in extreme pain. His pale face was revealing a bitter look, something that he had never shown for the past few minutes. Yuchi could see that he tried to scream, but only his mouth hanged wide open and no sound came out of it. Instead, a creepy black cloud of smoke rushed out of his mouth and shrouded his Darkness Unit.

Yuchi could not hide his fear looking at such a scene. It was ten times, no, a hundred times more horrible than witnessing the mad Vice-Chancellor at his school turning into a giant monster due to his failed experiments. He gasped, trying to remain calm.

'Pilot Kendai!' Wiles' face popped out of a holographic screen in front of Yuchi. He kept his cool and greeted, 'Yes, Sir Wiles!'

'That Nightmare Wonder… I believe you have never seen that monster before, am I correct, Pilot Kendai?'

'No, sir!'

'That's a monster that all the Darkness Unit pilots will own in their Decks. It's a _Card of Darkness_. Commander Lupine will explain more about it to you when you get back.'

'I understand, sir!'

'Right now, focus on defeating it. It has only _2000_ Attack Points, but your Sapphire Angel has _2200_. I believe you can do it… Remember, Pilot Kendai, be confident,' reminded Wiles.

'Thank you, sir!' Yuchi said, and Wiles' face disappeared from the screen.

'All right, 2000 Attack Points…' Yuchi took a deep breath and smiled.

'One card, set, end turn,' continued the emotionless teenager. He looked as if he had been released from his excruciating pain.

'My turn!' declared Yuchi confidently. 'This time, I will definitely not lose my courage again!' he thought.

'I summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster, _Magical Fairy Apprentice_!' A white, fluffy angel – Yuchi's favorite monster, emerged. It had 1200 Attack Points.

Commander Lupine watched Yuchi's duel from the large screen in the commanding centre. 'Normally, amateur duelists would go straight directly to _Synchro Summoning_, but what will you do, new Pilot?'

Both Units were speeding on the straight track. They bent to avoid hitting the edges of a tall building that obstructed the middle of the track and continued moving at high speed.

'Spell Card, _Mystical Space Typhoon_!' Yuchi proceeded with his next attack. 'I destroy the set card on your field!'

The card that the teenager set down on his field was revealed to be a Trap Card and was smashed into smithereens.

'Excellent, Pilot Kendai!' thought the Commander. 'That card was _Darkness Trap_, a card that would have cost you Life Points if you attacked earlier. Great judgment, Pilot Kendai!'

Even Tenshi who was observing Yuchi's battle from his screen while dueling at the same time let out a smile.

'Sapphire Angel, attack Nightmare Wonder!' The azure angel cried and hit the black smoke with his blue staff. Instead of disintegrating into pieces, it went straight back into his master's mouth. The teenager gasped in pain again as the smoke slowly intruded his body. His expression showed clearly that inside his mind, he did not want to duel at all.

'Are you alright?' shouted Yuchi from beside. The teenager refused to reply. His Life Points dropped to 3800.

'I swear I will win this duel and rescue you from your pain!' determined Yuchi.

'Magical Fairy Apprentice, attack the enemy directly!' the puny white angel nodded his head and started to chant something. Then, out of his staff shot out a white bolt and hit the teenager.

The teenager let out a loud wail, as if he had suffered a lot of pain from the blow just now. His Life Points dropped to 2600.

Yuchi was beginning to feel uneasy. 'What should I do now?' he asked himself. He originally imagined that defeating the Card of Darkness would be enough to relief the pitiful boy from pain, but now, attacking directly had made the situation even worse.

His enemy was coughing badly now. He seemed to be having a lack of fresh air to breathe. He was suffocating. He could not focus on the duel at all. He tried to stand up, but his chains on his arms and legs bound him up, limiting his movements.

Then suddenly he let out one loud cry. His eyes enlarged and his mouth hanged open. Red _blood_ started pouring out of his mouth. He attempted to stop the bleeding by holding his mouth but could not. Yuchi could not stand watching as blood started leaking out of the boy's _nostrils_ and _eyes_ as well. His pale face was dyed red by the blood.

'H… Help m… me…' the boy begged Yuchi with his weak voice. He was covering his bleeding mouth with his one hand and reaching out to Yuchi with the other. But Yuchi did not know what could help him. He was already dumbfounded by the effects of what he had done to the boy. Now taking any further step would possibly kill the teenage boy, and that was what Yuchi did not want to see happen.

_Yuchi: 4000 LP, Enemy: 2600 LP_

* * *

><p>'My Mistress,' whispered the shadowy person named Fate.<p>

'What's wrong, my dear Fate?'

'It seems that one of our duelists has shown signs of rejecting our control.'

'And who would that be, my dear Fate?'

'My Mistress, he's the one who is dueling the new pilot right now,' Fate took out a screen and showed his young lady the profile of the boy.

'Oh dear…' the teenage girl paused for a few seconds, considering about something, and concluded, 'it seems that I have to take things in my own hands now.'

'And may I know how you would do it, my Mistress?'

'My Father King…' explained the girl, '…he left something with you when he died, am I right, my dear Fate?'

'Er… yes, my Mistress. It's the _Sacred Talisman_. May I know what do you need it for, my Mistress?'

'When I was six, my Father King sent me to the mountains for training, do you still remember that?'

'Yes, my Mistress. I still keep in touch with the _Shaman_.'

'The Shaman taught me one thing there.'

'And what is it, my Mistress?'

The girl smiled, but she refused to reply to the man's question.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

_Konnichiwa_! My name is_ Kaworu Ikari_, and I'm the best friend of the protagonist, Yuchi Kendai.

Next chapter, my friend gets to summon his _Supernova Angel Knight_!

But… It seems that his opponent has something prepared for this!

Oh no, Supernova Angel Knight is defeated and Yuchi is in danger!

What would he do?

Find out in the exciting _Chapter 7: Blood._

Duel… Standby!

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>

Nightmare Wonder

Lv. 4/DARK/Fiend-Type/Effect

[Effect unknown]

ATK 2000/DEF 0

* * *

><p>...<p>

**Note from the Author**

To all who have been awaiting my latest chapter, I sincerely apologize.

Like I mentioned in a previous chapter, I was away on holiday for last week and I only get to start writing on Sunday.

It took me three days to complete because this was a difficult chapter to write.

There are a lot of twists in this chapter that I have planned earlier.

Such as the one that finally made _Mirai no Sekai_ a darker and bloodier fanfiction.

Yes, that last twist.

Anyway, as I have also mentioned previously, there will be a special chapter for Christmas.

It will be published along with the next chapter.

The special chapter will be more of a slice-of-life story rather than the violence and gory of this fanfiction.

Oh yeah, I'm also publishing a fanfiction on another anime - Lucky Star!

Chapter One will be out tonight, GMT +8.00!

So don't miss the Christmas presents I'm giving you all!

Merry Christmas!

And remember to review after reading, _Arigatou!_

_- Project M.G._


	7. Chapter 7: Blood

**_Chapter 7: Blood_**

Yuchi could not stand feeling horrified by what he was seeing.

The innocent boy had already lost a big portion of his blood. His pale skin, his Deck, his cards, his Duel Disk, and even the pilot's seat were all in a red mess. Puddles of his own blood were literally everywhere surrounding him. And yet still, blood continued pouring out of his wide-open mouth.

Not only Yuchi, but the U.N.D.E.A.D. Commanding Centre was also at a loss witnessing this situation. Technical Officer Maya turned her head away out of disgust. She hated seeing bloody things the most. Some of the amateur staffs were screaming. It was the first time they realized the terrible aspects of their jobs.

However, there was one man who could still remain his calmness. He was comfortably seated at his desk, watching everything from his screen. The cries and shouts of his juniors did not seem to bother him at all. His facial expression showed a sense of dignity and seriousness. He was thinking about a plan that could turn this into a win-win situation, emerging as the victor of the battle while saving the poor boy at the same time.

His name was _Lupine Hevesy_. Commander Lupine Hevesy.

'Doctor,' he called out to the smartly dressed Indian woman standing to his right. She was also observing the situation from the Commander's screen.

'Prepare the medical team for an emergency. This boy is showing signs of rejecting control. We shall rescue him immediately after Pilot Kendai has won the duel,' he continued.

'Yes, sir,' the woman walked away.

The screen was now showing Yuchi in his Unit. '_Pilot Kendai_,' said Commander Lupine to him.

'Sir!'

'Continue your attack. There is no need to hesitate,' instructed the Commander.

'But sir, I can't do that!' retorted Yuchi.

'Why, Pilot Kendai?'

'B… Because if I continue attacking, t… that boy will surely die!' Yuchi's slurred speech revealed that he was fearful.

'Never mind about that. Right now, the priority is to win and save the city.'

'I… I can't, sir!'

'You must do it, Pilot Kendai!'

'W… _Why_?' Tears started to appear in Yuchi's eyes.

'W… WHY? WHY DID YOU KEEP COMMANDING ME TO ATTACK? DID YOU RECRUIT ME JUST TO ATTACK?' Yuchi could not tolerate the pressure he was feeling anymore. He burst out and flew into a rage. He had never felt so angry for the past sixteen years.

'Pilot Kendai, this is an unexpected situation…'

'UNEXPECTED! IT'S AN INNOCENT LIFE THERE! HOW CAN YOU JUST LET ME KILL HIM?' he shouted.

'Pilot Kendai! We can't save him at the cost of the _whole_ city! You must understand!' Even the Commander started to lose his temper.

But Yuchi did not want to listen to him. He just hung his head in silence.

Out of the blue, the screen blacked out. Then, when it finally returned to normal, it showed Wiles in his Unit instead of Yuchi.

'Technical Officer Maya!' called out the Commander. 'Can you check what has happened to Pilot Kendai?'

'Yes, sir!' the girl bowed to her employer and turned to work with her panels.

After a few seconds, she reported, 'Sir! Pilot Tenshi's Unit went out of his course and crashed into Pilot Kendai's Unit!'

'_What_?' exclaimed the Commander. The Units shouldn't have acted this way. Duel Mode also meant that the Units were autopilot. The computers shouldn't make a mistake!

'Unless…' thought Commander Lupine.

His suspicions were correct. Tenshi's Unit assaulted Yuchi's Unit because Tenshi himself _commanded_ his Unit to do so.

'Argh!' Yuchi screamed out in pain as he felt the impact from the crash. Fortunately a barrier emerged to block Tenshi's Unit from attacking his Unit further.

'PILOT TENSHI, WHY?' demanded Yuchi.

'BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO FINISH THE DAMNED DUEL QUICKLY!' Tenshi also seemed to lose control of himself.

'BUT…!'

'STOP WASTING TIME! DO YOU KNOW THAT YOUR ENEMY IS SUFFERING?'

'My… enemy?' Yuchi turned to look at his opponent. The poor boy had already stopped bleeding, but the amount of blood he lost earlier had caused him to become severely dehydrated. His eyes turned blank, his mouth hanged open, and his soulless body was bending down motionless as though he had turned into a zombie.

'Yuchi, when I dueled you just now, I thought you were a _perfect_ candidate to save the city…' Tenshi said.

'…but it seems that I was _wrong_.'

'I cannot… save the city?' Yuchi stared at his reflection in the black computer screen and started to think about Tenshi's words. 'My dream… is _gone_?'

* * *

><p>Yuchi met himself.<p>

He was back on the rocky path. To his front was the same bright white light. To his back was an abyss of darkness. But this time, he was not walking anywhere. He was neither stepping forward to the light beyond, nor backing down to the realm of shadows.

He encountered a reflection of himself. The reflection had the same look, same helmet and same suit as him. He stood still in front of his own reflection, which seemed to be smiling at him.

'Yuchi…' said his reflection.

'Are you… _me_?' Yuchi was perplexed by what he was seeing.

'Yes,' replied the reflection. Strangely, this reflection appeared calm and collected.

'W… Why do you… appear?'

'To help you,' the reflection smiled at him. 'Because I'm your everything. Your mind, your body, your soul.'

Yuchi was dumbfounded.

'Yuchi…' continued the reflection. '…You mustn't falter. You should keep going on with your dreams…'

'B… But I couldn't save the boy! I even nearly _killed_ him!' Yuchi began to weep.

'It's true,' the reflection let out a warm smile once more, 'the boy is already helpless. But think about it, you have to save _more_ people!'

'More… people?'

'Exactly. If you have two paths to choose, why not choose the more _noble_ way out? Why stuck yourself with the obstacles you face along the more _risky_ journey?'

'The more… noble way out?'

'Correct. Yuchi… I've been inside your mind for sixteen years and I know who you are. Yuchi, you are a _true_ genius, but being a genius comes a big problem. You get discouraged by your mistakes and failures easily,' the reflection explained.

'…' Yuchi was speechless. He could not fault his own reflection. Indeed, since young, he had always thought too highly of himself. He did have the abilities, but he was sometimes too _overconfident_ with his abilities. And when he tumbled over along the journey of life, he would lose all his courage to walk on.

'I must choose… the more noble way out…' he encouraged himself.

'Yuchi… Tenshi is right. Don't waste any more time. You must leave here _now_, or else it would all be too late…'

Before Yuchi could even say a word to the reflection, the latter had already vanished into the light. Yuchi clenched his fist, and ran along the rocky path to reach the light that was awaiting him.

* * *

><p>The evening sun had set. It was early night; the sky was deep azure with a tint of scarlet. Both Yuchi and his enemy's Units were still speeding along the Duel Lane. Tenshi's Unit was following closely behind Yuchi's. He had already settled his own battle with the two Enemy Units he was facing, both of which disappeared into a ring of light after the duel. Wiles had also finished his duel and had retreated back to the Headquarters.<p>

'Pilot Tenshi,' Yuchi woke up from his delusion. 'Thank you. I know what to do now.'

Tenshi smiled. 'So you finally understood, my rival, no, my colleague,' he thought to himself.

The teenage boy on the black enemy Unit was still unconscious after the incident. Yuchi looked at him pathetically, and turned his head to focus at the front.

'It's still the Battle Phase of my turn. I activate my Trap Card, _Urgent Tuning_! With this, I can Synchro Summon during my Battle Phase!'

He proceeded to take away both monster cards on his Duel Disk and inserted it into the Graveyard slot. 'I tune my Level 3 Magical Fairy Apprentice with my Level 5 Sapphire Angel!'

'_The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory!'_

'_Synchro Summon! My ultimate ace, Supernova Angel Knight!'_

And Yuchi's magnificent white warrior appeared. It let out an ear-piercing battle cry, as if it really wanted to serve his master well.

'Supernova Angel Knight, attack the enemy directly!'

The warrior pierced his gigantic weapon towards the teenager's Unit, and instantly his Life Points plummeted to a mere 100. Yuchi observed his opponent. Although he did not bleed again this time, he was still unconscious.

But all of a sudden, the boy was trembling vigorously again. Yuchi thought he was cold, but no. The boy's head jerked up and he was smiling evilly. His eyes were no longer black, but shining red. He seemed to be _possessed_ once more.

'New pilot…' the boy started talking with a strange sharp voice he did not have in the beginning. 'If my own people can't crush you, then I'll defeat you instead! As the leader of _Al-Magnum_!'

'We shall see then,' challenged Yuchi. 'I set one more card and end my turn!'

'My turn! I summon _Nightmare Wonder_!' The boy inserted one card into his Duel Disk. The black smoke came out of the his mouth and shrouded the whole field once more.

'Nightmare Wonder's effect! By discarding one DARK monster from my hand, I halve this card's Attack until the End Phase!'

Yuchi looked at his screen. The Attack of Nightmare Wonder had indeed fallen to 1000. 'But what's your motive?' he thought.

'The card I discarded was _Nightmare Striker_. When it is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, it can be Special Summoned to the field!'

Another cloud of black smoke came out of the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. Unlike Nightmare Wonder, it had red eyes and sharp claws. Yuchi looked at its data and found out that it was placed in Attack Position, with an Attack value of merely 800.

'Nightmare Striker, attack Supernova Angel Knight!' declared the boy.

'But Supernova Angel Knight has more Attack Points!' defended Yuchi.

'Nightmare Striker's effect activates! By removing this card from play, the monster it attacks is destroyed, and in this case, it is _Supernova Angel Knight_!'

Yuchi watched helplessly as his monster was engulfed by the black smoke and crushed into pieces by its sharp claws.

But it wasn't all. Next, the black cloud of smoke spread over to Yuchi's Unit and surrounded it. While Yuchi was wondering what happened, he was suddenly paralyzed. He could not move at all. Furthermore, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It felt as though someone took a knife and pierced it into his chest.

'W… What is that?' he asked as the black smoke surrounding him started to disperse.

'That's the _Card of Darkness'_ powers. It drains energy from you whenever it destroys a monster you control or attacks directly. In a sense, your monsters and your Life Points are like your lifelines whenever you battle against a Card of Darkness,' Tenshi explained through the screen.

Though painful, Yuchi could still bear the pain. He held his controller tightly, reminding himself not to lose grip.

'Next, Nightmare Wonder attacks you directly!' the boy launched his next attack.

The other cloud of black smoke assaulted Yuchi. Yuchi felt the same sharp sense of pain in his chest again. He clutched his chest to relieve himself.

Yuchi's Life Points dropped to 3000.

'I activate my Normal Spell Card, _Dream Eater_. It changes all my "Nightmare" monsters to Defense Position and inflicts 700 damage to the opponent for every "Nightmare" monster that declared an attack this turn,' the boy said as he inserted a green card into his Duel Disk.

Yuchi's Life Points lowered further to a 1600. As each Life Point was taken away, Yuchi could feel the agonizing pain in his chest increasing in intensity. 'But I must not falter, I must not falter…' he reminded himself.

'I set one card and end my turn!' the boy announced.

'During the End Phase…' Yuchi was gasping with pain, '…Supernova Angel Knight can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard by removing from play one Fairy-Type Monster in my Graveyard.'

The white warrior emerged out of the deep-blue sky.

'My… turn!' Yuchi was panting as he pulled out a card from his deck. He took a look at it, and let out a smile.

'I… I summon _Marshmallon_!' the gummy monster popped out of a white ring.

'Marshmallon, destroy Nightmare Wonder!'

'I won't let you! I activate my Trap Card, _Trap of Darkness_!' Four chains shot out from the pink card that was just revealed and bound the gummy monster up.

'With this, I negate your attack and inflict 1000 damage to your Life Points!' Yuchi screamed in pain as his Life Points were cut down to only 600.

'Supernova Angel Knight, destroy Nightmare Wonder!' the white warrior dashed over to the opponent's field and assimilated the black smoke with his shining silver weapon.

'I see…' laughed the boy. 'But do you have any more tricks to defeat me?'

'I have!' Yuchi cried. 'Trap Card activate, the _Treasure of Hope_!'

'When my monster destroys your monster by battle, I select that monster and let it attack again!'

'Wh… What?' the possessed boy seemed amazed by Yuchi's unexpected final move.

'**I WILL SAVE YOU!**' cried Yuchi as his Supernova Angel Knight dealt the final blow to his opponent.

...

His Life Points turned to _zero_. Yuchi had won the duel.

* * *

><p>'<em>No, you don't have to save me...<em>'

These were the words that rang in Yuchi's mind.

He looked around him. He was not in his world of delusion. He was somewhere else, somewhere _brighter_ and more _cheerful_. Everything was white there. The ground, the sky, the birds chirping happily far away, the water in the fountain…

To his front was the teenage boy that he had just 'saved'. Yuchi wondered why they were both there.

'Mr. Kendai, thank you but... _you don't have to save me_…' the boy smiled to him.

'But why? Why not?'

'Because the world doesn't need me anymore. I'm a _useless_ person who has his soul taken away by the devil…'

'But you were not the one piloting the Darkness Unit! It's those evil people who has been toying you like their servant!' Yuchi was a bit emotional.

'I know,' the brown-haired boy laughed. 'I know… Come with me and I'll show you something…'

He took Yuchi's hand and led him along a white path. Far away, Yuchi could see that the path would eventually join up with a bridge. On the other side of the bridge was a great white castle. There was no sunlight there, but the gleams of the surroundings had already lightened the place up.

They walked and walked along the path. Walked for about five minutes or so until they finally stopped.

'Mr. Kendai, look at this,' the boy showed him something. A white hourglass. It was giant, miles tall and wide. It stood magnificently at the side of the path. White sand was falling down little by little from the upper bulb to the bulb below and disappeared to nowhere. Yuchi could see that the bulb above had only a _little_ sand left.

'That's the _hourglass of Life_. Everyone has an hourglass of Life. It shows how much more time God allows us to live.'

'And that…' the boy pointed to the upper bulb with a little sand in it, 'is my hourglass of Life.'

'Does that mean you don't have much time left?'

'I think so,' said the boy. 'Anyway, is it better if I could just have an _earlier_ death now?' He turned to smile at Yuchi again.

'But…'

'Mr. Kendai… _this_... is your hourglass of Life…' he flicked his thumb and the upper bulb was filled up to _full_. Yuchi widened his eyes.

'My… hourglass of Life…?'

'Yes… I can see that your _destiny_ hasn't ended yet.'

'My… destiny?'

'Exactly. And I believe that you can make it. Your _dreams_.'

'My… dreams?'

'You must have your own aspirations, right?' asked the boy.

'Y… Yes.'

'And your dreams are…?' The teenager in front of Yuchi seemed to be of the same age as him, but he must be a lot more mature.

'T… To _help_ people…'

'I thought so,' the boy replied. 'That _was_ my dream too. But unfortunately I can't do it.'

'So I'm putting all my _hopes_ on you, Mr. Kendai,' he held Yuchi's hand. 'I'm sure you can help many people. Help them from _disaster_. Help them from their _sickness_. Help them from _despair_…'

He looked at his white wristwatch and informed Yuchi, 'Mr. Kendai, I think I must go now. A better place is awaiting me.'

'Where...?' asked Yuchi. The boy was turning away from him.

'_Paradise...'_

_'Paradise...'_

_'Paradise...' _His voice echoed in Yuchi's ear.

'_Wait_!' shouted Yuchi as the boy was walking away. He did not turn back.

The boy walked further and further away from him. Yuchi wanted to chase after him, but his feet could not move at all. He could only see his silhouette disappearing in front of him, into the light beyond…

* * *

><p>'Technical Officer Maya, has the report from the government arrived?' asked Commander Lupine.<p>

'Yes, sir,' said the young girl, handing some papers over to her boss.

'_Jun Higurashi_,' Commander Lupine read out the report, 'he suffered from a _rare_ blood disease two years ago. His parents sent him to Al-Magnum as they believed that it could cure the disease, but he ended up joining the organization in their terrorism activities instead.'

'What a fine young man…' he commented. He continued to read the report, 'he was a student in the _Emperor Military Academy_ before defecting to Al-Magnum…'

'So… he was forced to join Al-Magnum?' deduced Maya.

'I think so. By the way, how's the condition of Pilot Kendai?'

'He's still in the _Medical Unit_. The doctor says that he might have overworked himself.'

'Let him stay overnight then.'

'I understand, sir.'

The door closed behind Commander Lupine. He took a deep breath.

' "_The key to mankind's survival, the hope that will shine in the darkness_" yeah…? Sir Neo...' he put down his report and thought about that ambiguous speech his senior was saying.

'Do you mean…?' he looked at the _**PROJECT CLEAR**_ folder on his table and suddenly realized something.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

In the next chapter, the female protagonist, Amaya Suzuki makes an official introduction!

Wiles Euclid shares his past with Yuchi. What is his backstory like?

Meanwhile, Tenshi duels against Amaya! Who will win in the end?

Yuchi quarrels with his friend Kaworu! What are they fighting over?

Don't miss… _Chapter 8: Friend! _Published before New Year's Eve!

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>

Treasure of Hope

(Normal Trap Card)

Activate during the Battle Phase, when a Fairy-Type monster you control destroys a monster your opponent controls by battle. Select that monster you control. It can attack once more during this Battle Phase.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note From the Author**

This chapter is what I think the best out of all the seven chapters published so far.

Not only did it introduce one of the most pitiful character I have planned for the whole fanfiction - _Jun Higurashi_, but it also revealed the cruelty of the mysterious Al-Magnum.

But Jun's story would not end like this.

In the future, I still plan to let him appear in one of the very important chapters.

That would be months away from now, so let's not talk about that.

Christmas! Yes, that's the hip word for today.

What do you guys get for Christmas? I get nothing =(

However, I want to give you all something.

The special chapter I promised! It will be published tomorrow!

The title is called _A Christmas Tale, _so don't miss it!

Anyway, two chapters are already up in my other fanfiction for _Lucky Star! _Please do read it!

If you don't know where it is, it can be found in my profile! Just click on my name anywhere!

Please also remember to review after reading both of my fanfictions! _Arigatou ne~!_

_Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!_

_- Project M.G._


	8. Special Chapter 1: A Christmas Tale

**_Special Chapter 1: A Christmas Tale(s)_**

He was _alone_.

He had no one to celebrate Christmas with. Old Mr. John had gone on a holiday to Seoul on his own, his classmates were all having their own sweet time playing and partying. Even his best friend Kaworu had to go to the church.

He was _poor_.

He had no money to spend for the day. His manager at the convenience store nearby ran into a car on Thanksgiving and was still lying in hospital, thus he did not have the time to give whatever December wages to him.

He was _bored_.

He could not think of anywhere to go to. In a metropolis run by capitalism like Neo Domino City, you need to have some cash in hand when you go anywhere. Nobody would accept an impoverished fellow like him into his or her door.

He sighed. This year was the _worst_ Christmas ever.

When he was still a child, he lived in an orphanage. The kind ladies there would give him sweets for Christmas and when they had some extra bucks left, a big teddy bear. The whole orphanage would eat and drink and party until late in the night. Even when he moved out to live alone, he could still celebrate a decent Christmas night. Old Mr. John always had some roast turkey left over the day before, so he would donate all of them to him. He would also have a bit of cash in hand to buy himself a small gift or good food to accompany with the meat.

But this year, he had _nothing_.

He stared at the newspaper cutouts on his floor and imagined how would Christmas be like if he had the chance to join _U.N.D.E.A.D._

'Maybe they would have a _big_ buffet dinner at their own castle-like Headquarters. Or maybe they would have fun and games until the wee hours of the night,' he thought.

But he was wrong.

Time flew like light. It was _Christmas Eve_ the next year.

'So beautiful!' squealed Amaya in delight. She was looking at the snow falling outside. Yuchi maintained his cool. He was reading the Unit Instruction Manual for the fourteenth time on his own bed.

'Hey, you _bugger_!' Amaya turned her head and shouted at Yuchi. Yuchi ignored her and continued to indulge in his reading.

'Hey, I said, you bugger! Mr. – Yuchi – Big – Bugger –!' Amaya seemed a bit annoyed.

Yuchi put down her book and stared at the girl at the far end of the room. '_What_?' he asked coldly.

'_Hgn_!' Amaya made a face at Yuchi and turned back to look at her snow. 'Hey Mr. Bugger, are you bored?' she asked.

'What?'

'You can't hear me?' the girl was irritated by Yuchi's repeating questions. 'I said: Are – You – Bored?'

'Not really,' Yuchi laughed. 'I mean, staying in our rooms is our duty. After all, we are the Unit pilots and Al-Magnum would attack any time…'

'_Hgn_!' that was her reply. 'Buggers only know how to follow instructions. _Duty_, _duty_, _duty_, that's the word you buggers always listen to.'

Yuchi ignored her again and proceeded with his book.

But deep inside him, he really, really yearned to have a nice and warm Christmas. Sure, he was living under better conditions now, but he was not happy at all. There wasn't a bit of warmth in the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. He understood the purpose of Commander Lupine not allowing them to celebrate Christmas outside the Headquarters, but he wanted someone to at least greet him with a 'Merry Christmas' or so.

Inside this big metal building were all people made of metal. They had _no_ feelings, they had _no_ emotions; they were already burdened with their responsibilities enough to show any feelings or emotions. Their faces had the same expression everyday – a serious, solemn look that would scare anyone coming to the Headquarters for the first time. Especially during a period for celebration like this. Everyone seemed more paranoid than usual. They expected Al-Magnum to attack the city anytime while the people were having their own fun.

'Ah, except for someone,' Yuchi thought.

Just two or three days ago, snow suddenly fell underground. It was another invention by the great _Sir Bowman_ – he dubbed it the '_Artificial Snow Maker_'.

'The old man wanted to liven up the gravely place,' Yuchi thought, smiling. Sir Bowman was one of the people he respected the most in the whole Headquarters. 'He always thinks of _other_ people before himself.'

Yuchi closed his book and walked up to the window, where Amaya was. He looked at the snow, and let out a warm smile.

'W… What happened?' Amaya was a bit surprised by Yuchi's unexpected action.

'_Merry Christmas, Amaya_,' Yuchi said to his roommate with a warm tone.

'If other people won't, I will do it on my _own_,' he thought.

Amaya _blushed_. She had never thought that someone would be so friendly with her on Christmas, not to say the usually cold Yuchi Bugger. She smiled, held Yuchi's hand, and watched the snow falling together with him.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

So in this special chapter, I did a flashback and also fast-forwarded the story to show the contrast between the two Christmases that Yuchi 'celebrated'.

It's a bit out of chronological order, but I hope you can forgive me for that.

Anyway, if you think this chapter is a filler, you are wrong.

The later chapters will show that, so don't miss it!

If you have any queries or suggestions, please do inform me through your reviews! _Arigatou!_

_- Project M.G._


	9. Chapter 8: Friend

**_Chapter 8: Friend_**

The morning breeze was cold. Despite the fact that Yuchi was having his thickest blanket on, the chill could still easily penetrate into his body, making him shiver vigorously in his sleep until he could not tolerate any further and finally got up out of frustration.

Yuchi greeted himself to a sleepy morning and proceeded to wash himself. The bath water was not of any better color and odor than yesterday. The water supply company had eventually grown tired of his repeated refusals to pay the bills and decided to cut off his water pipe, forcing him to collect rainwater for drinking and bathing purposes.

After a few moments of scrubbing and cleaning in the bathroom, Yuchi changed into his best clothes. It was a tattered dark blue jacket with a yellowish-white T-shirt inside, accompanied with a pair of old jeans bought from the nearest flea market using less than a dollar. Whenever Yuchi would go out, he would always wear the same kind of clothes. He had those clothes for about four years already and although he had grown a bit taller and bulkier, he rejected himself to buy any more new clothes.

He inserted his deck case and the pass to U.N.D.E.A.D. he obtained two days ago into his right pocket. He made one last check that he was neat and ready to meet other people, and left his apartment without any breakfast. He did not have any food for the past two days because he had totally missed his job at the convenience store for those days.

'I don't know what you are up to, but don't ever take such a long leave again, or I'll _fire_ you!' was what the fierce shop manager threatened him.

'But I'm not "_up to anything_"!' Yuchi defended himself in his heart. 'I was saving to save the city from the _Darkness Units_, while you were enjoying your shelter!' He cursed and cursed his shop manager silently.

Someone was waiting for him outside the apartment. It was the same person, wearing the same white robes and his signature half-moon glasses as two days ago. He nodded to Yuchi as he was walking down the steps and towards his black sports car.

'_Ohaiyo, _Mr. Kendai.'

'_Ohaiyo,' _greeted back Yuchi. 'Just call me Yuchi in the future. I'm not used to being called by my surname.'

'Is that so?' laughed the man. His name was Wiles Euclid. Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid.

Wiles paused for a few seconds, and repeated what he was saying, 'Alright then, _ohaiyo, _Yuchi.'

Yuchi smiled. He was not the kind of serious, unfriendly person he imagined after all.

'Today as planned, you will be reporting to the Headquarters at ten,' Wiles said, looking at the digital screen that shot out of his wristwatch-like device. 'Is that alright for you, Yuchi?'

'Er… Alright.'

'But before this…' Wiles noticed that the time was eight thirty, which was still quite early. '…Why not we have some breakfast? I assume that you must be quite hungry, Yuchi.'

Yuchi suddenly heard his stomach growling out of hunger. He blushed in embarrassment.

'But… won't the Darkness Units attack while we're having breakfast?'

'Ha ha, fret not, Yuchi. We're eating at the Headquarters' canteen. Remember?_ Underground Level Fourteen_?' he reminded Yuchi. 'It will be impossible to not reach the Commanding Centre if the Darkness Units attack anytime, yeah?'

He winked at Yuchi and invited him into the car.

* * *

><p>'<em>So I'm putting my hopes on you, Mr. Kendai. I'm sure you can help many people…<em>'

'_I'm sure you can help many people…_'

'_Many people…_'

Yuchi opened his eyes. He was having a dream. A bad dream.

He looked at the surroundings. He was inside Wiles' car, moving on the lift towards the Headquarters. It was dark; the only light that was present was the glitter of the tower that stood magnificently below.

'Sleepy?' Wiles asked.

'No, not actually…' Yuchi tried to hide the fact that he had fallen into slumber the moment he stepped into the car.

He gazed at the tower and mused about the dream he just had. 'My… _destiny_…'

'What is it, Yuchi?' Wiles heard Yuchi mumbling about something.

'Oh, it's nothing…' he replied. 'By the way, how did the Unit Duel end two days ago? I remembered that I attacked the enemy with Supernova Angel Knight…'

'You won, Yuchi,' Wiles smiled at the teenage boy to his left. 'And then, you were unconscious until yesterday afternoon.'

'How's the enemy? Is he alright?'

'We did not manage to find him after the duel. We assume that like the other pilots, he disappeared along with his Darkness Unit after the duel.'

'Oh…' Yuchi clenched his fist. 'That _Al-Magnum_…'

'Yuchi?' Wiles noticed that Yuchi's speech suddenly became a bit more emotional.

Illuminated by the weak orange lights that were shone from the tower far away, Wiles could vaguely discover that there were tears in Yuchi's eyes. Wiles realized that he was bearing not to cry all along. He understood his feelings. Nobody could possibly stay calm seeing that happen, either to an ally or even to an enemy.

'Wipe your face, Yuchi,' Wiles said, handing a few pieces of tissue paper over to Yuchi. 'Commander Lupine won't be happy seeing his pilot like that.'

'T… Thank you…' Yuchi took a deep breath and did as what Wiles instructed.

'I'm sure he will be fine, Yuchi, I'm sure…'

'But he said…' Yuchi gave up what he wanted to say to Wiles. He understood that nobody would believe what he was saying. Even with current technology, mankind could still not explain whether if the concepts of '_heaven_' or '_paradise_' as depicted in ancient or religious texts really existed or not. The white place, the castle in the sky, the hourglass of Life… Everything must be an illusion. 'They could not have possibly be real…' Yuchi thought, mocking at what he saw together with the boy he was fighting two days ago.

'We're about to reach the Headquarters, Yuchi,' Wiles tried to shift the subject. Yuchi looked outside of the car. Indeed, the orange glow from the tower was getting stronger and stronger. Everything around him was no longer engulfed in darkness. He was relieved. He hated darkness the most, especially after that Unit Duel.

The lift stopped at Underground Level Fourteen. The Headquarters' canteen. Both the driver and the passenger got out of their car and stepped into the wide corridor welcoming them while the lift descended further underground.

'We're here, Yuchi,' Wiles pushed through the first door that they saw along the corridor. The sign on the door was clearly embedded with the golden words, '_Staff Canteen_'.

Yuchi had never eaten out before so he did not knew what all those restaurants and cafeterias in the city looked like inside. But today, he finally had the chance to visit one of them. Now he could experience something he had never tried before.

He stared in awe as the 'grandness' of the staff canteen welcomed him. What other people viewed as ordinary and mundane could be extravagance to him. The place was vast, more than enough to hold a thousand people inside. Numerous U.N.D.E.A.D. staff was enjoying their breakfasts in pairs or groups, couching comfortably on soft, fluffy armchairs while chatting with their partners. The individuals were either studying or having their nice morning naps there. The whole place was well lighted and air-conditioned so it might seem no wonder why those people did not want to leave the place.

From far away was the sound of woks clanging and plates sizzling. Hearing these sounds only made Yuchi even hungrier, not to mention he could smell the aroma of hot, freshly prepared food everywhere as well.

'I think you're hungry now, am I correct, Yuchi? Come, let's sit there,' Wiles led him to a white square table with four red armchairs by the side. Yuchi looked around him and embarrassingly took a seat.

'You must be… Yuchi Kendai?' A deep voice from behind suddenly frightened Yuchi. He turned around, only to see the face of a stranger in his fifties.

'W… Who are you?' Yuchi was a bit scared.

'Ha ha,' Wiles laughed. 'He's Sir Bowman. I told you two days ago, he's the lead scientist at_ Level Thirteen_.'

'Oh.'

'Nice to meet you, Pilot Yuchi Kendai. I've heard everything from Commander Lupine. You did a good job, young man,' praised the scientist. He was wearing the same white robe as Wiles. Yuchi assumed that both of them must have some relationship.

'Take this, young man,' the man named Sir Bowman handed over to Yuchi a small black box. He observed it. There was nothing special about it, just an ordinary black box the size of half of his palm.

Yuchi touched its top and suddenly the whole box _vibrated_. He touched the side again and it _vibrated_ once more. Yuchi thought that this was fun and rubbed and _rubbed_ the box continuously, causing it to shake so vigorously that the top eventually sprang open.

To Yuchi's surprise, out of it crawled out a tiny dog. He examined the dog. It was brown and furry, with a body size not taller or longer than two inches.

'What is this?' Yuchi enquired Sir Bowman. 'Is it… _living_?'

'Of course it's living! It's my new invention, the _Midget Dog_!' Sir Bowman laughed.

'_I'm not a midget_!' shrieked the dog in perfect Japanese. Yuchi paused for a few seconds and let out a short cry out of amazement. 'It can… _speak_?'

'You bet I do!' cried the dog, whose voice is so high-pitched it could easily beat the greatest soprano in the whole world. 'Woof!'

'Ha ha, seems like my creation is once again successful. Is it alright if I just leave the dog to you, young man? Ha ha!' Sir Bowman laughed once again and left both the Pilots, who were just dumbfounded by what they had just saw.

'Wait for me, Wiles. I'm going to find Sir Bowman and return to him this,' Yuchi said, referring to the Midget Dog. Wiles nodded and Yuchi rushed away to the direction where the scientist had left them.

But he could not find the man! Sir Bowman had already walked too far away. Yuchi realized that he might have returned to Level Thirteen and dashed out of the canteen. He ran and ran along the long corridor, wondering why was he taking such a long time to reach the lift.

_Bang_!

For some reason Yuchi could not explain, each and every second was passing extremely slowly at that moment. It was as if someone had pressed the button of a machine from a random science fiction and caused the law of time and space to disappear. He could vaguely make out each note of the romantic tune that was played from somewhere else far, far away. It seemed to be mocking at the rather awkward situation he had got into. He had just knocked down someone while in a frenzy to get into the lift. Both of them lost their balance and were falling down to the floor. Yuchi attempted using his arms to hold himself but found that they were numb. He could only close his eyes and await his destiny to save him.

A loud bump noise followed and the next moment he knew, his lips were tightly sealed onto something. It was soft and watery, with the faint fragrance of mint. He quickly jerked his eyes open to see what it was. To his front was the face of an infuriated teenage girl, her two big eyes glaring at him. Yuchi did not want to imagine what, or rather, who he was kissing.

'Sorry!' Yuchi apologized to the girl he had just bumped into as he reflexively pulled his face away from hers. He looked at the floor beside him. Thankfully, the midget bastard managed to escape before it would land into any trouble.

The girl was still staring fiercely at him. Her face was completely red.

Yuchi timidly bent down into a kneeling position. '_Sorry_!' he poured the whole of his heart as he was saying that. He sincerely did not knock the girl down on purpose.

'B… Bugger! W… Why on earth is a… a person like you in the H… Headquarters? T… This isn't your place, you should know that!' the brown-haired girl burst into an outrage. Yuchi could only keep absolute silence as the furious girl gave him an earful.

'_Sorry_! I'm really, really _sorry_!' that was all Yuchi could say for now.

'I… I warn you! I… I'm going to tell my _onii-chan _(big brother) about this! Y… You're going to be in b… big trouble!'

She picked herself up and walked away. Yuchi was trembling. 'What should I do now? That girl does not look like any random person from the Headquarters! Who is she? Who's _onii-chan_? Oh, oh my… What have I done?'

'Yuchi! Are you alright?' from far away came Wiles' voice.

'It's alright!' Yuchi ignored the Midget Dog's complains and collected him back into the black box. He slapped himself a few times and returned to Wiles.

'Did you have a quarrel with _Amaya Suzuki_ just now? I thought she was quite angry when she came into the canteen.'

'Who?'

'Amaya Suzuki. The girl with brown, long hair and is about the same age as you,' Wiles explained.

'Nothing, it's just a misunderstanding.'

'Is it so? Anyway, time is running out but I've bought you some sandwiches. Have them before meeting Commander Lupine,' Wiles handed over to Yuchi a paper bag.

But Yuchi was no longer hungry. He had just lost his appetite along with his first kiss just now. He smiled sheepishly to Wiles and followed him to the lift.

* * *

><p>'Mr. Kendai, or should I say,<em> Pilot Yuchi Kendai<em>! Welcome back to the Headquarters!'

The old man named Commander Lupine welcomed him with a big smile on his wrinkled face.

'P… Pilot Yuchi Kendai?'

'Yes, and that means you are officially a member of our big family!' Wiles congratulated him.

'We are convinced that you have the necessary abilities after witnessing your duel,' Commander Lupine said.

'B… But am I good enough? I even refused to attack the enemy when you instructed me to!' complained Yuchi.

'Oh, that kind of thing… I believe every first-timer in your shoes will make the same mistake,' defended Commander Lupine in a confident tone. 'Come, Pilot Kendai, and I'll reintroduce you to the _Headquarters_…'

'Like I mentioned two days ago, my name is Wiles Euclid. Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid. _Twenty years old_. Nice to meet you,' the young man in white robes said warmly. 'And this person is…' he pointed to Tenshi who just entered the Commanding Centre.

'There's no need for you to help me, Sir. I can do it myself, thank you. Tenshi Ryuma. Technical Sergeant Tenshi Ryuma. _Eighteen years old_,' interrupted the most arrogant and self-centered person Yuchi had ever known in his whole life.

'And I'm Technical Officer Maya. If you are wondering anything, no, I am not a Technical Sergeant. I only work with _computers_, not _weapons_. Nice to meet you, Pilot Kendai,' the young woman at the back of the Commanding Centre introduced herself.

'Doctor Parvita,' said an Indian woman beside the Commander. 'Hello, Pilot Kendai.'

'Were you the one at the medical unit two days ago?' Yuchi enquired.

'I see you have good memory, Pilot Kendai,' praised the doctor, which made Wiles and Maya laughed. 'Yes, I'm the doctor attending to you two days ago.'

'T… Thank you,' Yuchi was not really used to saying these words.

'It's no big deal. Ah, Commander Lupine, I've just done the medical checkup for Pilot Amaya Suzuki. The report's on your desk.'

'Thank you, Doctor,' replied the old man.

'P… Pilot what?' Yuchi somehow had heard the name before.

'_Pilot Amaya Suzuki_!' a voice from behind made Yuchi jump up and tremble in fear. He turned back, only to find out that it was the girl whom he had bumped into minutes ago.

'Hgn!' Amaya smirked. 'To think that someone like you could actually get into U.N.D.E.A.D.… What a bugger!'

'W… What?'

'Don't think I haven't forgotten what happened just now, bugger!'

'Pilot Suzuki! Don't say anymore! Just introduce yourself to Pilot Kendai!' Tenshi barked.

'Yes, _onii-chan!' _her tone suddenly changed when she was replying to Tenshi.

She made a face to Yuchi. 'Amaya Suzuki. Technical Sergeant Amaya Suzuki._ Fifteen years old_,' she introduced herself reluctantly to Yuchi.

'She has just returned from Europe,' Wiles explained. 'From a twelve-month training program in the _SAS_.'

'Oh…' Yuchi was a bit calmed now.

He looked around him. 'I'm sure you can help many people…' those words kept ringing in his mind. 'But can I really help people by joining this?' he asked the voice in his mind.

There was a sudden pain in his head. It kept getting increasingly aching, until he could not tolerate it. Those dark memories of the past were returning to him. He wanted to forget all of them, but he could not. More and more memories kept returning…

_His mother's grave… The times he was bullied by the 'elders' of his orphanage… His enemy spitting out blood…_

'_R.I.P. Sakura Kendai_'…

'_Ha ha, look at that "hero" Yuchi!_'…

'_H… Help m… me…_'

He clutched his head and tried to focus to his front. But he could not see anything. The silhouettes of the people in U.N.D.E.A.D. were getting blurrier and blurrier. Everything eventually blackened out…

* * *

><p>'<em>Onii-chan! <em>Amaya's really bored in Europe, so can we have a Riding Duel again, please?'

'Alright, alright,' Tenshi gave in to Amaya's demands. He had been treating Amaya like his own little sister ever since the first day he entered the military.

Ring. Ring. Tenshi looked at his phone. Wiles was calling.

'Yes, sir? How's Pilot Kendai?'

'Still in the emergency unit. Doctor Parvita is trying her best to save him now.'

'Thank you, sir,' he switched off his phone.

'_Onii-chan! _Amaya can't wait now! Let's start our duel quickly!' Amaya complained. She did not seem to be affected by Yuchi's condition. Her red D-Wheel was ready to move.

'I know!' barked an annoyed Tenshi.

He started the engine and declared together with his little sister, '**DUEL**!'

* * *

><p>...<p>

'Yuchi! Are you alright? Why are you…?' Kaworu asked. Yuchi opened his sleepy eyes. Kaworu was visiting him in his house, after he fainted at the Headquarters the day before. According to Doctor Parvita, she could not diagnose Yuchi's sickness and since Yuchi had recovered by himself, he could go home. He would return to the Headquarters some other day.

'_Kaworu_…' Yuchi held his best friend's hand, and asked him, '… can I help other people, Kaworu?'

'…What?'

'Kaworu… can I join U.N.D.E.A.D.?'

'Yuchi, what are you talking about?'

'That day, when you were being evacuated, I was fighting the enemies…' Yuchi revealed the secret he had been hiding from his friend.

'Yuchi… Are you sick?'

'No, Kaworu, just tell me, can I join U.N.D.E.A.D.? Tell me, please! Please!' Yuchi begged his friend.

...

_Wham_!

The white-haired boy punched his best friend in the face.

'Kaworu… why…?' Tears came out of Yuchi's eyes as he wiped the blood off his nose.

Kaworu paused for a few seconds, calmed himself down, and said to his best friend, 'Yuchi… you're sick. Don't think about anything else for now, okay?'

'No… Please tell me, Kaworu! Can I? Can I?'

'_I don't want_…'

'W… What…?' Yuchi was mumbling.

'I said I _don't want_ you to join U.N.D.E.A.D.! Just think about it, you fell sick when you were there, Yuchi!' Kaworu suddenly flew into a rage and growled at Yuchi.

'K… Kaworu…?'

It was too late. His best friend had already banged the house door close.

* * *

><p><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>

In the next chapter, Al-Magnum's _past_ is finally revealed!

Along with the _real_ identity of U.N.D.E.A.D. and M.R.D.!

And then, Yuchi tries to convince Kaworu to agree with his decision!

But he faced even more difficulties when the Darkness Units launched a surprise attack on the city!

Don't miss… _Chapter 9: Enemy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>

There is no card of the chapter.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

Well, it seems that things in YGO! M.S. has finally got much more interesting.

I try to make this chapter a more 'light-hearted' one, since it's the introduction of the characters, while not forgetting the darker elements from previous chapters at the same time.

Transitioning between the light-heartedness and the darker elements is what I believe to be one of the most difficult things to do in this chapter.

After a bit of brainstorming, I decided to make a few modifications to my original plan.

To show the transition, Yuchi's headache happens earlier, and it is actually a foreshadow to what will happen later in the fanfiction.

Kaworu punching Yuchi was not in my original plans either.

But, in order to emphasize the _intensiveness _of the quarrel between them, I added in little details like this.

Such an _intensiveness _will be elaborated further in the next chapter.

From this and the preview, you can actually imply that next chapter is pretty heavy and action-packed.

Indeed, and hence I would take a bit longer to complete this time round, very sorry for that!

Anyway, please remember to review after reading, _Arigatou ne~!_

_- Project M.G._


	10. Chapter 9: Enemy

_Chapter 9: Enemy_

* * *

><p>'<em>Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.'<em>

_- Sun Tzu, The Art of War_

* * *

><p>'Yuchi, do you know why I joined U.N.D.E.A.D. in the first place?'<p>

Yuchi was in a total loss. He had forgotten why he wanted to join U.N.D.E.A.D. in the initial place. All he could remember was when he happily stepped into its Headquarters for the first time his nightmares just came back to him. Not to mention the breakup with his best friend, Kaworu Ikari that proceeded.

Now Wiles was visiting him, bringing along with him some flowers and fruits. Of course, Yuchi understood that Wiles couldn't possibly be there for such a simple reason. 'He must be here by Commander's orders, persuading me to go back there once more,' the words rang in his mind like a chiming bell.

'I… _don't know_…'

'I was just like you three years ago,' Wiles explained. 'I was the Duel Champion of _Vancouver_.'

Yuchi half-heartedly listened to Wiles' life story. 'You won't convince me to go back to the Headquarters anyway,' he thought confidently.

'But then, what's the purpose of being a genius if you can't save your _family_ at all?' Wiles continued.

'What happened to your family?'

'My parents _died_. Murdered by _someone_,' Wiles took off his glasses and covered his face with both his hands. It was the first time Yuchi had ever seen such an emotional side of Wiles.

'And then, two weeks after my parents' death, my elder sister went _missing_.'

'So you joined U.N.D.E.A.D. to…?'

'Before my sister went missing, she left me a note. With "_Careful, Soteria_" written on it.'

'You believed that Soteria has something to do with _Al-Magnum_?'

'Yes…'

Wiles paused for a few seconds to cool down, and continued telling his story. 'I need to protect my younger brothers and sisters. Shield them from Al-Magnum and Soteria at all costs. And find out the truth behind those incidents.'

'_Truth_? _Protect_? Aren't those my reasons as well?' Yuchi suddenly remembered his purposes. 'Didn't I want to protect my city from enemies too? Didn't I want to find out the truth behind my father's disappearance too?'

'What's wrong, Yuchi? Feeling unwell again?' Wiles noticed that he was not paying attention at all.

'Nothing…' Yuchi smiled.

* * *

><p>'<em>I'm a genius. I'm a genius. I'm a genius…<em>' the thoughts of his motives kept coming back to him.

'I was always a lonely person. Probably because others see me as a genius and did not want to come near me.'

Yuchi recalled the past when he was young and still living in the orphanage.

'Oi! It's that "genius" Yuchi acting "clever" again!' Somebody exclaimed.

A young Yuchi was sitting at the aisle, his face buried in his hands. He was crying. But no matter how loud he was, nobody wanted to go near him.

'Hey, you!' another person suddenly grabbed hold of him in the neck and snorted. Yuchi stopped wailing but he was now breathless. He reached out his hand, trying to suffocate his enemy.

Wham!

He was left with a black eye. The bruise never recovered until two weeks later.

'I was always bullied. Because I was smarter than them.'

A few years ago, he finally made out of the orphanage. He could still remember that scene, when he stepped out of the place. Some of the women there who treated him well were crying; some others were bearing with the sense of sadness in their hearts. But behind those ladies were the so-called "_friends_" that he had lived with for years. They were smiling like little devils, as if they were extremely elated about his eventual departure from the place.

Right now, Yuchi could still recall their evil smirks.

'I have no friends. But is my intelligence really _useless_? I can still use it to help other people! And my father! I want to find him!'

...

He gasped, and proceeded, 'Kaworu… I know you meant me well, but I just have to disappoint you for this time. In spite of those mishaps at the Headquarters!'

He reassured, 'Yes, despite the nightmares I have! It's nothing compared to my _aspirations_! It will not fool me! I'm going to break through the chains of Destiny and create a new life of my own!'

Yuchi regained consciousness. He looked at the concerned Wiles in his front for a few moments, and said to him, 'I'll go with you, Sir. I'll _return_ to the Headquarters.'

* * *

><p>'<em>Onii-chan! <em>Amaya's going to attack now!' the girl squeaked. 'Moonlight Raider, pulverize Berserk Dragon with Lunar Beam!'

A shadowy figure appeared behind Tenshi's prized possession and a streak of white light shot out of its old wooden staff, reducing the latter into fine particles.

Amaya shrieked in excitement as Tenshi's Life Points were reduced to a mere 200.

'Amaya, do you think I'm playing _serious_ against you?'

'Eh? I don't understand, _Onii-chan…' _Amaya shook her head.

'Just how long do you need me to teach you?' Tenshi shouted in anger.

'_Onii-chan_, calm down…' Amaya was frightened by such a response.

'That Yuchi Kendai, he's your colleague! And you can still _fool_ around when your colleague's in danger! Think about that, Amaya!' Tenshi could not tolerate the fury in him anymore.

'It's not like I don't care about him, _Onii-chan_!' she was very annoyed now that Tenshi mentioned who was perhaps her 'greatest enemy' in the whole world.

'Then show me, Amaya! What's your _proof_?'

'It's...'

Both D-Wheels stopped abruptly. Tenshi parked his in a corner and trudged away, leaving behind a girl who was about to cry. 'Let's cancel the duel, Amaya. I need to cool down,' he said in a tone that was drastically different from just now.

'Hgn!' Amaya turned her head away in disgust. 'That _bugger_! Why does everyone like him so much? What does he have to take away Tenshi's attention from me?' She was getting very, very jealous. 'Who is he, the _son_ of Kaiba Corp's president? Hgn!'

* * *

><p>'My Mistress, the dissection report of Jun Higurashi's body is out,' informed Fate, as he handed over a brown envelope.<p>

Sitting on the silver throne was a pink-haired girl. She had an extremely pretty countenance, one that would put many beauties in the world to shame. Wearing a laced black dress embellished with flowers and diamonds on it, she looked just like a princess. A princess that had unfortunately fallen to the charm of the devil and was seeking to expand her kingdom for her sinful thoughts.

'Let me see,' she reached out her small, white hand for the envelope. Fate dared not disobey her mistress and placed the envelope on her hand respectfully.

'And Mistress…'

'What is it, my Fate?'

'Soteria has just sent us their reply.'

'And what is their decision?' said the young girl, while flipping through a file containing papers. 'Hmm…' she murmured, 'The _R.C. Syndrome_, is it…?'

'They have agreed to provide us with 50 million worth more of funds. My Mistress, that would mean…'

'I know that, my Fate. You're referring to the costs of building an _additional_ three Twin Darkness Units, am I right?'

'Yes, My Mistress. I'm pleased to inform you that Soteria has approved of our proposal. The Step Two, no… even _Step Three_ of our plan can now be completed.'

The girl paused for a few moments there. Pearls of tears were in her eyes. 'My Father King… Fate?'

'My Mistress?'

'Will Father King be proud of me?'

'Of course, My Mistress!' assured Fate. 'When the great king entrusted me as your mentor, he had already foreseen this day.'

'What day?'

Fate cleared his throat, and said, 'the day when the power of his kingdom, Al-Magnum will finally rise together with you, my Mistress, as the superior person among all!'

* * *

><p>'The enemy that we have been fighting so far, is called <em>Al-Magnum<em>. I'm sure you are not unfamiliar with the name, am I correct, Pilot?'

Commander Lupine spoke with a solemn tone that frightened Yuchi so much.

'Y… Yes…'

'Great!' praised the Commander. 'Then I shall tell you everything about it.' Yuchi looked at his superior keenly with his two eyes.

'Fifteen years ago,' the old man began his lecture, 'the nest of the cult organization _Yami_ was demolished by the United Nations Security Forces. They were found to be possessing large numbers of deadly weapons, including military jets, in order to carry out their proceeding plan.'

'What is it, sir?'

'The leader of Yami was _Ronald O John_,' the Commander said, showing a photo of the criminal on the digital screen at his back. Yuchi deduced from his looks that he couldn't have possibly survived until today.

'Ronald O John is a wanted terrorist with both Irish and Japanese origin. What he hoped to create was the greatest kingdom in the world ruled under him, through what Yami termed as "_Holy Conquests_" according to their scriptures.'

'A decade after Ronald O John was arrested, he hanged himself in prison,' Commander Lupine continued, confirming Yuchi's deductions. 'But apparently his influence had not ended yet. Three years ago, his right-hand man, _Fate Ingris_, founded Al-Magnum together with Ronald's only daughter, and a few of Yami's former members.'

Yuchi expected the screen to reveal the appearances of both people, but to his dismay, only a blurred photo of a young man was shown. His face could not be seen clearly but he had a height and body size much like Yuchi's own.

'Commander, why…?'

'I know, Pilot,' interrupted the Commander. 'Both the data of Fate and Ronald's daughter were still very much in a _mystery_. This man show here, was the only footage we have of Fate.'

'What about the name of Ronald's daughter?'

'We have not confirmed that Ronald actually has a daughter yet. We only have one piece of evidence. Maya?'

'Roger, Sir!'

The girl beside the screen took out a thumb drive from a folder and inserted it into the computer. The screen buzzed and a Ronald covered in blood was shown.

'He he…' laughed the hideous man in the screen. 'I may be dead, but don't forget, United Nations freaks! I still have my daughter! She'll be the successor to my aspirations. There'll be a day when Yami, no, Al-Magnum will conquer the world once and for all!' And the man continued with his hysteric laughter.

The screen buzzed again.

'T… That is the only evidence?' Yuchi was dumbfounded.

'Exactly. That was Ronald O John in prison two weeks before he died.'

The Commander thanked Maya and proceeded, 'Obviously Al-Magnum is a much serious problem than Yami. As a religious terrorist organization, they have been using their "_scriptures_" to radicalize people to join them and assist them in their malicious acts.'

An image of Jun's soulless eyes flashed through Yuchi's mind.

'And then…'

He hinted at Maya to show the next material. This image showed the Darkness Units.

'Two years ago, Al-Magnum has somehow attained the highly confidential information, which, you have known, is an asset shared by both the Neo Domino Self-Defense Force and Kaiba Corporation.'

He coughed a little and revealed the answer, 'The _Units_.'

Yuchi remembered the first time he was evacuated to a nearby shelter, when he was fourteen. As the Neo Domino Self-Defense Force claimed, it was because 'an _earthquake_ is about to happen'. Who would have imagined that it was actually some black, massive Duel Monsters gadgets piloted by possessed teenagers invading the city?

He thought, 'Was _Soteria_ involved in this?' He took a peek at Wiles who was outside the transparent glass wall. The man in white robes seemed to be researching on something on the computers.

Yuchi turned back to Commander Lupine. He was talking to Maya. Yuchi could not hear what they were communicating about.

'Shall I ask him about my father? Would he know?' Yuchi asked to himself. He tried to pick up courage to ask the Commander, who might have hints to his father's whereabouts. His father was formerly related to U.N.D.E.A.D., as far as Yuchi could remember.

He gave up that thought. 'Never mind then, I'll ask him some day later.'

* * *

><p>Yuchi hurriedly packed some necessities into a canvas bag. Clothes, a towel, his birth certificate, a portable radio received from Old Mr. John and his beloved Duel Disk. He had less than twenty minutes left before the black-suited people outside his apartment would forcibly take him back to the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. He had been officially recognized into the organization and would be moving into the underground hostel that day.<p>

'_Mum_,' he said to himself, smiling, 'Your son has finally made it. I swear I would find Dad for you.'

Everything was ready! He slung the bag over his shoulder, took one last glance at the house he had been living for years and banged the house door shut behind him. 'I would miss you for sure,' he said to it.

He paid one final visit to his old neighbor.

'Ah, I see that you are ready to go, young man!' laughed Mr. John.

'Thank you for your care,' was Yuchi's reply.

He bowed at the old man and took the steps to ground level. The men there stood proudly and solemnly, as if a very famous person was about to come.

'_Wait_, Yuchi!' Yuchi was interrupted by a cry from far away. He turned his head and noticed a white-haired teenager rushing towards him.

'Wait, Yuchi!' the boy was panting. Yuchi could not help but feel pitiful for him.

The men dressed in black suits beside Yuchi attempted to block the boy but Yuchi stopped them.

'Never mind, I'll do it _myself_.'

'Kaworu, _Konnichiwa_,' Yuchi smiled warmly at the boy.

'Yu… Yuchi, is this how you treat me as your best friend?' said a rather sorrowful Kaworu.

'I have no choice, Kaworu. I must do this.'

'But Yuchi…' protested Kaworu.

'No _buts_,' retorted Yuchi, retaining that smile on his face. He was bearing with the tears in his eyes, trying not to cry. He felt guilty for not telling his friend about anything. 'I cannot run away. Running away is _wrong_.'

'No, Yuchi, no, you can't go…' begged Kaworu. His eyes were already red with tears.

'Kaworu…' replied Yuchi. '…I must do this. I must protect the city, no matter what. This is my _destiny_.'

'Sorry, Yuchi, sorry for what I've done yesterday…' Kaworu started to weep. He reached out his hand to pat Yuchi's nose.

'Never mind, Kaworu…' said Yuchi, who was feeling rather bad already. '…If I were you, I would choose to do the same.'

'I'm really, really sorry, Yuchi…' lamented Kaworu. '…Can you choose not to go, Yuchi?' He kept begging Yuchi to stay with him.

'Like I said, I have the duty to do this. I cannot escape from my destiny, Kaworu…' Yuchi, too, reached out his hand to tidy up Kaworu's beautiful white hair, which had been blown into a mess by the cold wind.

'I still can't accept this, Yuchi... What if your headache comes back again?'

'Kawo…' Yuchi was about to say something when he was interrupted by the men beside him.

'Pilot, Commander has ordered us to bring you back immediately. Something has happened,' informed one of them.

'W… What is it, Yuchi?' asked a concerned Kaworu.

But Yuchi did not reply. He nodded at the men and followed them to their black car, refusing to look at the friend he would be leaving.

As he was being driven away, Yuchi did not turn back. He understood that it would be difficult for Kaworu to accept such a cruel fate of losing his best friend, but everything could not be helped.

'_Sayonara, _Kaworu…' Yuchi wiped off the tears in his eyes as the car swerved away from the lane leading to the apartment. '…I'm sure we'll meet again, _somehow_…'

* * *

><p>'Sir, we have brought Yuchi here according to your orders!'<p>

'Excellent,' commended the old man, noticing the Yuchi behind the men.

'All Pilots are in order! Prepare Unit Types One, Two, Three and Four! Order evacuation of all residents of Neo Domino City,' he shouted out.

'Roger!' replied Maya.

'Pilot Kendai,' said the Commander. 'Today's battle is a little _tougher_ than last time. But do not fret. Someone will guide you along. Do you still remember your last Unit Duel with the Darkness Unit?'

'Yes, sir…' replied Yuchi. '…But what is happening, Sir?'

'Al-Magnum launched a surprise attack on Neo Domino City. They have sent out ten Darkness Units this time. Pilot Euclid and Pilot Tenshi will each handle three of them, while you and Pilot Suzuki will each handle two.'

'_Onii-chan, _why do I get only two?' protested an irritated Amaya to Tenshi. The arrogant man remained silent. 'Luckily you're _alright_, Yuchi,' he thought.

'Pilots standby!' Commander Lupine raised his voice.

'_Yes, sir_!'

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview of Next Chapter<em>**

Unit Duels make a comeback!

Next chapter, we have Yuchi dueling two Darkness Units at once!

We will also show segments of other Duels that are happening at the same time!

All in the exciting _Chapter 10: Versus (Pt. 1)!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Card of the Chapter<em>**

There is no card of the chapter.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

This chapter starts off with a quote.

Hence, you can imply that most of the events in this chapter are closely tied to the quote.

Wiles purpose of joining U.N.D.E.A.D.

Yuchi's realization of his own destiny.

Al-Magnum's backstory.

It's an ancient Chinese quote that I like very much. And I find it very suitable to base this chapter off that quote.

Anyway, please review after reading! _Arigatou-ne!_

- _Project M.G._


	11. Chapter 10: Versus Pt 1

_Chapter 10: Versus (Pt. 1)_

* * *

><p>'Pilot Kendai, here's a chance for you to defeat me.'<p>

Tenshi challenged Yuchi as they put on their close-fitting pilot suits in the changing room.

'Yes?' Yuchi half-heartedly replied him.

'We shall compete against each other to see who can defeat his enemies faster. Since you're battling _two_ only and I'm battling _one more_, I guess there's no unfairness, do you agree?'

Yuchi ignored him and proceeded to zip up his suit.

'Pilot Tenshi, stop being so cocky,' warned Wiles, who had already put on his suit and was ready to take off.

'I accept,' Yuchi murmured, much to Wiles' surprise. 'But, what would I get if I win?'

'I'll forget everything about your previous loss,' replied Tenshi in his usual arrogant tone, as if his victory against Yuchi in the last duel was a very big matter.

'But!' he shouted. 'Should I _win_…' he let out an irritating smirk, '…you'll recognize me as a far _superior_ duelist, and you shall be humiliated for the rest of your life.'

'_Okay_,' Yuchi replied softly. He strapped his helmet onto his head and left the room without saying anything more.

'Hey, Yuchi!' Wiles hurriedly ran over to him.

'What is it, Sir?'

'You… You don't want to compete against him actually, don't you?' said Wiles.

'Don't worry,' Yuchi forced himself to smile, making Wiles even more concerned. 'I won't lose, for sure.'

'But… What if you meet a situation like last time again…?'

'It was Pilot Tenshi who saved me last time,' Yuchi replied in a grateful manner. 'Without his words, I wouldn't have won that duel. Although… that injured boy disappeared in the end…'

'However, I've decided now!' He clenched his fist. 'I will not chicken out at such situations again. I must _fight_. I must save the people around me and the city!'

'Oh…' Wiles let out a sigh of relief. 'Well, let's not waste our time then. The Darkness Units must be waiting for us to initiate Clause Eleven.'

'That's true.' And both people walked together along the corridor and exited through the big glass door at the end.

'Let's see…' Tenshi thought to himself as he looked at his two fellow pilots leave the corridor. '...Have you become a _stronger_ duelist now, Yuchi…?'

* * *

><p>'Commander Lupine, I urge you to <em>reconsider<em>,' said a voice. 'Do you really want to bet the peace and harmony of Neo Domino City on a "patient" like him?'

'That's right, Commander Lupine. I heard that he fainted in the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters once before, am I correct?'

The Commander clutched onto his pen tightly. He understood that any persuasions to those old fools would be futile.

'Ladies and gentlemen, please remain silent,' the man named Neo suddenly interrupted. All the people in the dark room followed as he ordered. Commander Lupine dropped his pen on the table.

'Commander Lupine,' all his men listened keenly to him, 'I heard that Pilot Yuchi Kendai is a little _sick_, am I right?'

'No wrong, Sir,' replied the Commander respectfully.

'But Sir Neo,' Doctor Parvita interrupted, 'I did as Commander Lupine ordered, by injecting him with anti-depressant drug, Pilot Yuchi Kendai has stopped showing signs of his hallucinations now.'

'Excellent, Doctor,' praised Neo.

...

'Sir, as the newly elected Vice President of Sector Security, I have two questions for you.' A young man sitting beside Commander Lupine began to speak.

'What is it?'

'Why does the Darkness Unit _only_ choose to attack Neo Domino City since their first appearance? And why do our people know nothing despite the news being spread to all other parts of the world during every invasion?'

Neo paused for a few seconds and replied, 'regarding your first question, the only reasonable explanation for this is that Neo Domino City is where M.R.D.'s fortress belongs to, and by successfully invading here, Al-Magnum would have no more threats to counter against their attacks.' He was referring to the Units, the prized possessions of the organization.

'What about my second question?' There was a moment of discussion among the members in the room. It seemed that this was a mystery that had yet to be solved.

Neo remained silent.

'Sir, do you perhaps…?' cried one of the voices that were discussing the issue. He seemed to have figured out the answer. Sir Neo grinned satisfyingly.

* * *

><p>'Kaworu…' As Yuchi adjusted himself to his seat, he thought of his best friend whom he had abandoned just now. 'Kaworu… I promise I would defend Neo Domino City for you at all costs!'<p>

'Unit Type Four, ready to go!' he declared to the woman in the computer screen.

'Unit Type Four, prepare to launch in five… four… three… two… one…'

His Unit was shot upwards to the ground above. Even though it was the second time Yuchi was sitting on this, he still felt uneasy. He couldn't imagine that he was about to fight the Darkness Units for another time. And, best of all, today he was going to fight two Units at once.

Previously he thought U.N.D.E.A.D. was a military organization set up to just 'prevent' anyone from invading the city 'in case' such events did occur. But now, he was convinced that this was untrue. U.N.D.E.A.D. had been secretly protecting the city from enemies for years. When all the residents were taking shelter in the heavily guarded evacuation centers, believing the armed soldiers' lies that they were all natural disasters, it was in fact a few brave teens who went all out to defend the city from invasion by the international terrorists known as _Al-Magnum_.

He clutched his fist. 'Today I will be even _stronger_,' he promised to himself.

'Clause Eleven initiated. Duel Mode on,' announced the woman's voice from the computer.

'He he,' laughed one of the opponents. His Darkness Unit looked no different from the one Yuchi encountered during the last duel, except that its limbs are thinner and it was swifter.

'We are the _Hitomi_ twins,' shouted the other opponent. Both of them looked exactly the same – black, messy hair and a face that clearly looked like it was asking for trouble. Except one of them had a mole on his left cheek while the other did not. 'Your name is Yuchi Kendai, right?'

Yuchi refused to answer his opponent's question.

'Oh? So it looks like our enemy this time round can't talk at all?' Both the twins broke into hysterical laughter.

'Shut up,' Yuchi uttered.

'Well, well, well… So you finally could say something huh, you rude, dirty bastard?' mocked the twin with the mole. 'I don't see why we couldn't beat someone like him so easily, bro,' jeered the other. Both of them laughed insanely.

'Let's teach you a lesson, little Yuchi.'

'Exactly. We are gentlemen, so we'll let you go first.'

'**DUEL!**' the three duelists declared.

'My turn!' Yuchi announced as he pulled his card.

'Pilot Kendai,' Commander Lupine's face popped out in the screen. 'This duel is a bit special. You are fighting against two duelists, and by the team duel rules, you will have one turn after one of your opponent has played his cards. Nobody can attack until all players have played their turns.'

'I understand,' replied Yuchi. He accelerated his Unit so that he would not have to listen to the twins' irritating voices.

'I Normal Summon _Angel Gardna_ in Defense Position!' A small-winged angel emerged, holding two big metal shields that completely concealed its body. The data on the computer screen revealed that it was Level 4 and had 2000 Defense Points.

'What a coward,' jeered the opponent, 'starting off with a defense monster like that.'

'We can defeat that easily, right bro?'

'I set one card and end my turn,' Yuchi looked at his hand and smiled. He had thought of a strategy that could defeat his opponent in no time. 'I just need one card. That card,' he thought.

'What a disgusting smile,' said the twin with the mole. 'I go next! Draw!'

He paused for a few moments and played his next move. 'I Special Summon _Tyrannical Earth Golem_!' As its name suggested, the earth below shook and a one hundred-feet tall stone giant stood up from the cracks of the ground. It was Level 5 with 1800 Attack Points.

Yuchi let out a sign of relief. It seemed that the Hitomi twins were not using the Cards of Darkness. As Commander Lupine put it, those cards were just 'purely evil'.

'Yuchi, you have to look out. Most of the Al-Magnum duelists possess the Card of Darkness, which deals real damage to both you and the duelists themselves. Beware, they can injure you quite a lot…' Yuchi recalled Wiles' advice to him before they entered the pilot's cabin.

'Tyrannical Earth Golem can be Special Summoned from my hand when I have no monsters on my field and in my Graveyard,' the twin explained. 'And when it is Special Summoned, I can send an EARTH-Attribute monster from my hand to the Graveyard!' He proceeded to choose a card and discard it into the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk.

'Next, I Normal Summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster, _Earth-Crawling Ant_!' A giant termite slowly crept out from a glowing white ring onto the green holographic track.

'So you're playing Synchro Monsters like me, too,' he grinned.

'I tune my Tyrannical Earth Golem and Earth-Crawling Ant together!' the stone giant and the six-legged monster seemed to float on the air all of a sudden, bursting into eight bright stars. The stars clustered together and flew past a large green ring that emerged in the sky.

'_Roar, earth! Let me hear your victorious cry! Synchro Summon, Geb the Earth Guardian!'_

Yuchi embraced himself as a horrendously huge monster came into his sight. It had the head of a bull, but a body of an ogre. On its hand it carried a big silver axe, ready to split anything into half. It had an Attack Points value of 2800.

'Since I can't attack, I set one card and end my turn.'

'My turn!' Yuchi declared. 'Angel Gardna's effect! During my Standby Phase, its Defense Points increase by 500!' Its shields grew bigger, perhaps alluding at the fact that its Defense Points had rose.

'I set a card and end my turn!' Two facedown cards were now moving alongside Yuchi's Unit.

'It's my turn!' cried the other twin without a mole. His Darkness Unit swerved to avoid hitting a building. 'I Special Summon _Cyclone Dragon_!' The clouds in the sky suddenly turned dark and a typhoon in the shape of a fierce, long dragon descended. Similar to Tyrannical Earth Golem before it, it was also Level 5 and had 1800 Attack Points as well.

'Cyclone Dragon's effect! When it is Special Summoned, I send a WIND-Attribute monster from my hand to the Graveyard!'

'And then I Normal Summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster, _Wind-Riding Butterfly!_' The fast-moving insect with iridescent wings appeared.

Yuchi already knew what was going to happen.

'I tune my Cyclone Dragon and Wind-Riding Butterfly together!' Yuchi thought for a moment that he was seeing a déjà vu as the two monsters burst into eight stars and gather together, flying like little fairies past a large green ring.

'_Howl, wind! Let me hear your victorious cry! Synchro Summon, Nud the Wind Guardian!' _

The new Synchro Monster this time round took the form of a giant phoenix, magnificently descending from the clouds. Yuchi paused his breath. The phoenix spread out its two beautiful wings to reveal its dazzling look. Its bluish-green body sparkled brightly under the afternoon sunlight, like it was completely made of emerald.

It was placed in Defense Position and had 2800 Defense Points.

'You rude little bastard, see? This is the power of the Hitomi twins! We don't need the Card of Darkness to win over you.'

'Yeah, Her Majesty specially designed our decks. Nobody can beat our team power!' And both of them broke into laughter.

'_Yuchi, a real duelist does not think about what his next opponent would do and how to counter it. A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his own strategy well in order to face his next opponent…'_

'Yes, Tenshi…' Yuchi smiled broadly as he observed his hand. '…I am going to play my own strategy well in this duel!'

* * *

><p>'<em>Ride, ride, my Unit, gently through the track<em>…' Amaya sang.

'_Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, duel is but a dream_!'

'_Ride, ride, my Unit…_' she repeated.

She held to her cards tightly and stopped singing. The black enemy Units had arrived. '_Onii-chan's _gonna be so proud of me when I defeat them both!' she shrieked excitedly.

'**DUEL!' **declared the three duelists. Their Units started to move along the green digital track.

'I shall go first!' she screamed, pulling out a card and adding it to her hand. 'I Normal Summon _Azure Bird of the Night Sky!_'

A petite, blue-feathered bird came flying out of nowhere. Its Level was 3 and it had only 500 Attack Points.

'What a useless little monster,' her opponent, Rei commented.

'Exactly,' agreed her other opponent, Rin. As they introduced minutes ago, Rei and Rin were also twin sisters, whom had decks personally modified by their 'Mistress' herself, and so they did not need to rely on the powers of the Cards of Darkness.

Amaya smirked and continued, 'I activate the effect of Azure Bird of the Night Sky! By Tributing this card, I can Special Summon two more Azure Bird of the Night Sky from my Deck!'

'However!' she shouted. 'These monsters cannot be used as Synchro nor Xyz Material Monsters, and will be destroyed during the next End Phase.'

'How foolish,' laughed the pink-haired girl named Rei. 'To waste a monster like this on the first turn.'

'Correct,' agreed the orange-haired girl riding on the Darkness Unit just beside. 'You should have used it to defend yourself from our attacks! Ha-ha!'

'Who said anything about "defending"? We are only at the first turn!' Amaya snapped. 'I activate my Normal Spell Card, _Double Summon_! With this, I can Normal Summon an extra time this turn!'

She laughed heartily as the twins let out a loud cry of '_What_?'

'I Tribute both my monsters to Advance Summon my ace monster, _Moonlight Raider_!'

The two blue birds disappeared amongst the clouds. Descending from the sky was… a mysterious, large shadow, frightening the twin sisters so much they could only hang their mouths open and do nothing else.

* * *

><p>'Hey Midget Dog, what do you think of Yuchi Kendai's duel?' the old scientist asked, sipping a cup of coffee in his comfortable, air-conditioned office.<p>

'I said, I'm not a midget!' complained the tiny animal on his right palm. 'But anyway, that young man is in quite some trouble.'

'Really?' laughed Sir Bowman.

'Hey, it's not funny! Those guys have already summoned their ace monsters!'

'I don't agree, Midget Dog,' he said in a serious manner.

'Like I said, I'm not a –' the dog was interrupted by his master's comments.

'I believe in him, Midget Dog. Back when I first met him a few days ago, I could already sense that he has the powers that could help _save_ _mankind_.'

'You mean, his prowess in Duel Monsters?' the furry animal was a little confused.

'No,' said Sir Bowman, taking another sip. 'I don't see any problems with his dueling skills at all. But there's one more important thing…'

'What is it, Sir? Woof!'

'He might be an essential key to what those old folks at M.R.D. are planning,' he coughed a little and continued, '**Project CLEAR**.'

* * *

><p><em><strong>Preview of Next Chapter<strong>_

Next chapter, Yuchi continues to fight against the Hitomi twins!

On the other side, Tenshi is racing to defeat his opponents faster!

Wiles' ace monster is destroyed! But he has another secret winning formula!

Find out more in _Chapter 11: Versus (Pt. 2)._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Card of the Chapter<strong>_

Azure Bird of the Night Sky

Lv. 3/DARK/Winged Beast-Type/Effect

By Tributing this card you control, you can Special Summon up to two 'Azure Bird of the Night Sky' monsters from your Deck. Those monsters cannot be used as Synchro or Xyz Material Monsters, and are destroyed during your opponent's next End Phase. If you activate this effect, you cannot Special Summon monsters until the End Phase.

ATK 500/DEF 500

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note From the Author**

Next week, there will be no new chapter.

My O-Level Exams results will be out on Monday and until Friday, I will have no time to write because it's enrollment time for high school.

I might consider writing a mini chapter or something like that but that depends on my schedule.

So, sorry, my supportive readers! I will upload new chapters on the weekend that follows!

Anyway, please review after reading! _Arigatou ne~!_

_- Project M.G._


	12. Chapter 11: Versus Pt 2

**_Chapter 11: Versus (Pt. 2)_**

* * *

><p><em>'<em>My dear Fate...' the adolescent girl called out softly. '...Come here please.'

'Yes, my Mistress. Fate is always ready for you.'

'Fate...' the girl whispered to her servant's ear. 'How's the _operation_ going?'

'My Mistress, don't worry... Your plan to use twin and triplet duelists against the despicable U.N.D.E.A.D. is going just well...'

'I personally designed their decks,' explained the girl. 'You believe they would play their strategies well this time round?'

'Definitely, my Mistress,' assured Fate. 'After years of fruitless attempts, Al-Magnum will reign eventually.'

'Father King told me...' the girl recollected her most beloved parent's advice. ' "_Neo Domino City must be conquered before any other city. It is the only utopia in this world._" So I want to fulfill his wishes as soon as possible.'

'I vow I would help you to reach that target at all costs. Fate exists because of you, My Mistress.'

'_I love you_, Fate… You are the only man I can trust in this world.'

She gave her servant a kiss on his cheek and turned her head away to enjoy the duels from her wide computer screen, leaving the poor young man to wonder what happened to his mistress in a corner.

* * *

><p>'I set one card and end my turn,' declared the Hitomi twin as he inserted his card into the leftmost slot of his Duel Disk.<p>

'My turn!' Yuchi pulled out his card. '_Angel Gardna_'s Defense Points rise by 500 again! Now it has 3000 Defense Points!'

'These two monsters must have some kind of effect that helps each other,' analyzed Yuchi as he scrutinized the two giant monsters facing him. He was not intimidated by this scene at all. He had already witnessed it many times during his days in school, especially during his duels with the mad Professor Bonaparte.

'I just need that one card. Before that, I need to set up a formidable defense against these two beasts. I don't know what effects they have, but it won't be a good thing for me.'

'I set a monster and end my turn!' shouted Yuchi.

'It's my turn!' cried the twin with the mole. His name seemed to be Honda Hitomi and he was the elder of the twins, according to Commander Lupine.

'I activate my Trap Card!' he announced, pushing a button on his duelist gadget. '_Rage of Earth_!'

'When there is a WIND-Attribute monster on the field, in this case, _Nud the Wind Guardian_, I select one EARTH-Attribute monster and it gains 1000 Attack Points! Of course, I select _Geb the Earth Guardian_!' the bull-ogre let out a deafening roar as its Attack went up from 2800 to 3800.

'What a monster,' commented Yuchi in a mocking tone. He was not nervous at all since he already had everything planned out before that.

'How, you little worm?' jeered the younger brother named Toyota Hitomi. He did not realize that Yuchi was secretly laughing at this scene.

'The Hitomi brothers shall never lose to the powers of authority!' agreed Honda. He proceeded to shout out his next move. 'Geb the Earth Guardian, attack that Angel Gardna! By the way, Geb has a _Piercing_ effect, so you will take 800 damage!'

'Really?' mocked Yuchi. 'I activate my Threatening Roar! Your attack is nullified!'

'As expected of a player who plays a defensive strategy,' laughed Honda, as Geb retreated away from Yuchi's monster. 'I activate my Normal Spell Card, _Powerful Quake_!'

The riding track suddenly shook vigorously. Luckily, Yuchi's Unit was put in autopilot or he would not have known what to do under such situations. It swerved left to right and back to left to avoid hitting all the buildings along the way.

'When the attack of a EARTH-Attribute monster is negated by a card effect this turn, I inflict 1000 damage to the opponent,' explained Honda. Geb let out another loud roar and directed his fist towards Yuchi's Unit.

Yuchi took the damage. His Life Points were reduced to 3000.

'By the way, just in case you didn't know,' the older brother said, 'we Hitomi twins _share_ a pool of 4000 Life Points. So nobody can call _unfair_ when the duel is settled.'

'Exactly. But anyway, we would defeat you before you even touch a bit of our Life Points,' mocked Toyota.

'I set one card and end my turn!' stated Honda.

Yuchi smirked. Everything was going as he predicted. He accelerated his Unit further away from those disgusting-looking Darkness Units.

* * *

><p>'<em>Miss Suzuki is winning, yee – yah – yee – yah – yo<em>!' sang Amaya to the tune of a certain popular nursery rhyme.

'Can you stop singing, bitch?' barked the annoyed sisters. The reason they were so irritated was not because of Amaya's horrible singing voice that sounded like the crocking of a toad, but because they had been forced into a corner, unable to do anything against their opponent's strategy.

Both Amaya and her opponents had a pool of 4000 Life Points each. A turn had already passed and while Amaya had sent her ace monster, Moonlight Raider ready for combat, her foes did not seem to go as well.

'_Onii-chan_'s gonna be so proud! It's my turn and I draw!' the red-suited girl announced. She laughed her heart out at the sight of the card she had just pulled. 'You sisters are going to regret dueling me! I equip _Moonlight Raider_ with the Spell Card _Magic Staff of Shadows_!'

The sisters, Rin and Rei, turned white.

'Magic Staff of Shadows increases the Attack of a Level 8 or higher DARK-Attribute Spellcaster-Type monster by 300 for every monster the opponent controls.' She paused to count for a few moments and continued, 'you each have one monster on your field. That means Moonlight Raider gains 600!'

On the computer screen, the meter for Moonlight Raider's Attack Points rose to 3300.

'Moonlight Raider, pulverize that nasty little Rin's monster! _Lunar Burst_!'

From the holographic emerald tiles out emerged a shadowy figure. Wielding a long magician staff that emitted a dark aura, the ten feet tall shadow sped along the track in lightning speed and slashed through the hairy bear-looking monster. The latter split into half and shattered into nothing. Thankfully for Rin, she placed her monster in Defense Position.

'I won't forgive you for destroying my sister's monster!' shouted Rei aggressively. 'I activate my Trap Card,_ Revenge of the Beast_! When a Beast-Type monster is destroyed, that monster is Special Summoned back to the field!' The hairy bear nestled itself comfortably on Rin's field, having gone through a trip to the cemetery.

'Let me show you the true power of the decks our Mistress designed! I activate my Continuous Trap Card, _Frenzy of the Beast_! Each time a Beast-Type monster is Special Summoned, you get 500 points of damage!' intimidated Rin.

Amaya looked a little disappointed with herself as her Life Points dropped to 3500. 'But then…' she looked at her hand and let out a satisfying smile. '…Next turn I will definitely do my _Onii-chan _proud!'

* * *

><p>Commander Lupine seemed a bit uneasy.<p>

'What happened, Sir?' queried Doctor Parvita. 'The kids are having the upper hand, aren't they? You don't look happy about this, do you?'

'Yes. I'm worried for them,' replied the Commander. 'Worried because they have the upper hand.'

'Why?' Doctor Parvita looked confused.

'Just look at the opponents,' pointed Commander Lupine. 'Do you think they're playing seriously against our pilots?'

'Now that you mention it…' Doctor Parvita scrutinized the Al-Magnum members piloting their Darkness Units. '…Something did seem not really right.'

'They said something about their decks being designed by their Mistress themselves, right?'

'Yes, Sir,' confirmed Doctor Parvita. 'May I know the reason you require this information, Sir?'

'Think about it, Doctor. Have you seen a Darkness Unit pilot not summoning his _Card of Darkness_ before?'

'Yeah, I was thinking about that too…' the woman thought for a while. '…Indeed this duel is a bit weird. No Card of Darkness has been used yet… Sir, do you perhaps mean…?'

'Exactly,' agreed Commander Lupine. 'Their "Mistress" intend to use the Cards of Darkness at the very _end_.'

'But why? Why use the aces last when you can do it at the very start?'

'I don't know,' said a worried Commander Lupine. 'But I've got a feeling that the Cards this time round has an effect that can only be used at that time.'

* * *

><p>'W… What is that <strong><em>Project CLEAR<em>** you are talking about, Sir?' mumbled the midget dog.

Sir Bowman cleared his throat and replied, 'it's the reason why M.R.D. developed the Units in the very first place.'

'You mean… the Project has been initiated since two decades ago?'

'Not bad for a Midget Dog,' laughed Sir Bowman. 'Correct.'

'B… But how did you know all this? Are you one of those people behind the Project?' asked the dog.

'Nope,' denied Sir Bowman. 'I'm hired under _U.N.D.E.A.D_. The people behind the Project CLEAR works for _M.R.D._ Understand the difference between these two.'

He sipped some coffee from his cup. 'Back to the duel, Midget Dog.' He pressed a button on his remote control. The screen buzzed and it showed Tenshi's duel.

'Woof!' barked the Midget Dog excitedly, looking at the projection. 'Don't you think it's a bit pointless for the Al-Magnum to carry out this operation? I mean, sure, those twin duelists did have some kind of cooperation between them, but…'

'I know what you mean, Midget Dog,' interrupted Sir Bowman. He sighed. 'It's a _requirement_.'

'W… What?' the furry animal did not understand what its master was trying to mean. 'R… Requirement? For… what?'

Sir Bowman took a sip and did not say anything. He could sense that somebody was watching him from behind. Somebody with a lot of power, playing with people like his own pawns. Somebody who could murder him anytime without being known by the public. The moment he mentioned a word about the 'secrets' he knew, his name would immediately disappear from this world.

He opened the chest of drawers under his desk and took out something. An old photograph. Sir Bowman dusted it and gazed at it with his two aging eyes. On the photo was a big _satellite_ about to be launched to space and orbit the Earth. Sir Bowman turned over the photo. The word '_Soteria_' was clearly written in ink on the white back. Sir Bowman let out a sigh and placed his photo back to his drawer.

* * *

><p>'My turn!' cried Tenshi. 'I tribute my <em>Hellish Breaker<em> to Advance Summon the Level 5 monster, _Improvised Saber K-55_!' Called to the field was a tall, mechanical warrior wielding a sword on each of its hands. It had 2200 Attack Points.

'Improvised Saber K-55's effect activates. When I Advance Summon it by tributing a Level 4 or higher Machine-Type monster, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Machine-Type monster from my hand! I summon _Berserk Engine No. 4_!'

Tenshi grinned. 'You should know the effect of Berserk Engine No. 4 right, Gentlemen?'

'No way!' exclaimed the trio piloting their Darkness Units behind him.

'Berserk Engine No.4 is now Level 5 thanks to its own effect! And so…' Tenshi laughed. '…I shall now overlay both of my monsters on my Field!'

'_With two of my monsters, I construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon, appear now, Berserk Dragon!' _

'I detach an Xyz material from my Berserk Dragon. _Berserk Buster_!' Tenshi's prized possession went berserk and dashed with full energy towards the opponent's monster, pulverizing it with its giant claws.

'And then, _Remorseful Flames_!' The trio was suddenly swallowed into an inferno. Although they cried for help, nobody could hear them.

Tenshi watched his opponent suffering with glee as they struggled to get themselves out of the fire. Their Life Points dropped from 4000 to 3200.

'Finally, Berserk Dragon, teach them a lesson with_ Ultimate Fire_!' The black dragon opened its mouth, shooting balls of fire out of it, engulfing the poor enemies in hell once more. As it was a direct attack, their Life Points dropped immediately to merely 200.

'No Trap Cards to protect yourself? Man, what weak duelists you three are!' jeered Tenshi.

'Hgn!' smirked one of the trio. 'You think we would lose like that?'

Tenshi smiled. 'Oh? You mean you still have a way to defeat me?' he asked in a cocky tone.

'Counter Trap Card activate! _Astral Offering_!' shouted the only bespectacled teenager of the three. 'When we take damage from a direct attack, we regain the amount of Life Points we lost and then pay 1000 Life Points as a cost!' Sparkles surrounded the three enemies and their Life Points counter shot back to 3200 before down again to 2200.

On the other side, the Mistress seemed a bit concerned by this situation.

'Don't worry, My Mistress,' consoled Fate, smiling evilly. 'They still have 2200 Life Points left. It's still a long way before you have to prepare the Sacred Talisman, my Mistress. After all, you prepared their decks specifically to fight against Tenshi's brutal, power-focused strategy.'

The little girl held her beloved crystal tightly in her white, tiny hand. 'Should their decks fail, I shall fight. For my Father King,' she said softly.

'For His Majesty,' agreed Fate.

She looked at her screen keenly. She smiled at the fact that her warriors managed to overcome Tenshi's attacks with the decks she had constructed for them. 'Tenshi has one of the strongest Ace Monsters among all the U.N.D.E.A.D. pilots, so let me see how you will fight against it…' she whispered.

Tenshi was laughing heartily. 'Now that's a real duel, Gentlemen!'

'But still, you guys won't hinder my way to defeat that Yuchi Kendai! I set two cards and end my turn!' he inserted the two cards into his Duel Disk.

Tenshi pressed a button on his panel. The computer screen showed Yuchi's duel against the two Hitomi thugs. '_Now_…' he thought. '…How will you defeat your opponent, Yuchi?'

* * *

><p>Wiles wiped away the perspiration from his forehead and took a deep breath.<p>

He looked at the cards in his hand. Aside from two trap cards, there was also a monster that he could not summon and a spell card with no use in the situation he had got into.

His ace monster, _Superior Astronomic Fighter_ was destroyed by the three sisters minutes ago and it was now his turn to play.

'Hey, just give up,' mocked his opponent.

'Yeah, you can't defeat the deck our Mistress designed for us.'

'Exactly.'

But he knew he could not just give up yet. There must be some way to defeat the opponents. 'Think, Wiles Euclid. Use your wisdom of Duel Monsters as the reigning champion of Canada! _Think_!'

He was exceptionally calm and patient. Wiles gazed at his field, then peeked at the opponent's field, then back to his field. He grinned satisfyingly.

'What? How can you…?' the red-haired girl in the Darkness Unit behind was surprised.

'Hey! Your ace has been defeated! How in the world…?'

'No way you can smile like that!'

'Sorry, ladies,' Wiles laughed. 'But I think you will be losing this duel.'

'What?' all three girls exclaimed in unison. 'We will… lose? What kind of shitty comment is that? Mind you, we have our ace monster on the field!'

Wiles looked at the azure sky above him. That large, vulture-looking bird that had just defeated his monster was soaring freely. The sound it made while flapping its two big wings reminded one of the vigorous tornados that would destroy everything in its path.

But yet, Wiles was not trembling with fear at all. He put his palm on his chest, staying calm so that he would be able to face against that giant beast without any nervousness. 'My brothers and sisters…' he thought. '…I'll definitely protect you all from _Soteria_!'

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview of Next Chapter<em>**

It seems that the U.N.D.E.A.D. has an advantage over Al-Magnum!

But who knows? The latter has something up in its sleeves!

Witness the supernatural forces behind that terrorist organization!

All in _Chapter 12: Darkness (Pt. 1)!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Card of the Chapter<em>**

Magic Staff of Shadows

(Equip Spell Card)  
>Equip only to a Level 8 or higher DARK Spellcaster-Type monster. The equipped monster gains Attack equal to 300 * the number of monsters on your opponent's side of the field. When the equipped monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, return this card to your hand.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>...<strong>

**A Note from the Author**

I apologize for the one-week hiatus. As I've mentioned earlier, it has something to do with my exams.

Now, let's get back to the chapter.

This Unit Duel is rather long. Because it's a total of four people against ten enemies, I have to split everything over _four_ chapters.

For Chapter 10 to 11, our heroes obviously have the upper hand.

But for the next two... I better not spoil too much.

This will be the second last duel before Part One of the story ends.

As you may have seen from my profile, Part One consists of a total of 14 chapters, plus two extras. It will end around this month.

There will be a one-month break for February.

Part Two (Chapter 15 onwards) will begin on 12th March, and will run until June.

Please continue to support my work by giving reviews and criticisms! _Arigatou ne~!_

_- Project M.G._


	13. Chapter 12: Darkness Pt 1

**_Chapter 12: Darkness (Pt. 1)_**

* * *

><p>'<em>Father King<em>!' exclaimed the small girl as she hurried along the aisle to give a warm embrace to her father. 'Where have you been? Little _Seraph's_ been looking for you all day!'

The man put down the watering pot in his hand and welcomed his beloved daughter with his arms wide open. 'Come here, my dear Seraph.'

Her eyes widened with joy. Although she was just a small girl, she already knew what 'paternal love' is all about. She hugged her father tightly, indulging herself in a world where only she and her father were present. She liked the warmth of her father's body very much.

'Little Seraph missed you, Father King. Where have you been?' she whined.

'Look at this, my dear Seraph,' her father pointed to a young shoot in front of them. A few pieces of tender, green leaves had already sprouted out of it. 'I've been watering it all day.'

'Watering? Why do you need to water the tree?'

'Because only then it will _grow_, my Seraph,' explained her father. 'Plants need water to grow.'

'Just like _Yami_?' she asked.

'Correct, Seraph, just like Yami,' said her father.

'And you are the water that will make Yami grow tall and strong?' little Seraph asked in an ignorant tone. She played around with the shoot, trying to catch the butterfly flapping her iridescent wings near its young leaves.

'No, Seraph, no,' denied her father. '_You_ will be the water that make Yami grow tall and strong. You, my dear princess, _Seraph O John_.'

'Why? Why, Father King?'

'Because I'm only fit to be the watering pot,' said the father, pointing a finger at the container on the ground. 'You, Seraph, will be the water inside that makes Yami to grow tall and strong.'

'But why? Why can't you be the water?' little Seraph realized something was wrong from their seemingly childish and innocent conversation. Her father was clearly hiding something from her.

The next week, their palace hidden in the mountains were barged into by a group of masked men. Seraph could still remember that day. It was etched deeply in her mind.

'No, Father King, no, don't leave me!' screamed little Seraph, as she lied down under a wooden chair to avoid being seen by them. She could not do anything. She could only watch at a corner, witnessing her father being shot in the leg, handcuffed and brought onto an armed truck by the masked men.

Her big palace was completely turned into ruins that day. The group of masked men destroyed everything in their path as they rummaged through the place. They killed all the people who served her father. Stabbed all the maids. Shot her old housekeeper ruthlessly with a rifle. They even murdered her father's friends and the bodyguards who tried to protect her at all costs. Blood splattered all around the house. Adults were shouting and running away from the uninvited guests.

The young shoot that her father grew at the garden last week was dead. Trampled and crushed over by the big feet of those 'evil men'. She begged to God that the plant would not be harmed, but it could not be fulfilled eventually.

'My Mistress!' Somebody suddenly grabbed hold of her and rushed her away from the palace. It was _Fate Ingris_; one of her father's most trusted helper. A mere twelve-year old teenager at that time who had sworn to serve her father till eternity.

'Why? Why are these people…? Why do they take Father King away?' wailed little Seraph.

Holding her in his arms, Fate did not say anything. He ran and ran, out of the palace, down the mountain, through the dark, creepy forest in the valleys, until a small wooden hut deep in the woods. A few of the masked men followed them, but luckily they lost track of them afterwards.

'Those were the _United Nations_' people,' explained Fate, as he washed his dirty suit beside the river. 'They thought Yami is evil, so they come to take your Father King away.'

'Yami is not evil!' insisted little Seraph. 'Father King said he wants everyone to join Yami so that the world can be a _better_ place!' She sat down on the bank sadly, dipping her feet into the clear river water. Her father would bring her to this river for a swim whenever she felt down.

'Yeah, but those guys won't listen to his ideologies.' retorted Fate. He walked over to little Seraph and bent down to look at the pendant on her neck. 'That _Sacred Talisman_… It's your Father King's possession, right my Mistress?'

'Yes, Father King gave it to me,' replied little Seraph. 'He said it would be useful in the future.'

'He left me a note last night,' said Fate, taking out a crumpled piece of paper from his shirt pocket. 'He also reminded me to look after the Sacred Talisman for you, since it holds the key to Yami's powers.'

'What powers?' asked Seraph, holding onto her pendant.

'He tells me in the note that…' Fate started to read out the note. '…You must go to the _Shaman_ when you're six to receive training on…' He stopped at the last word.

'On? On what?'

'He didn't write anymore after that,' said Fate, revealing the piece of paper in his hand.

'_Bang_!' someone fired a gun from faraway. The ear piercing sound it made echoed in the mountains.

Little Seraph was scared. She began to cry. 'Father King, Father King…!'

'Hush, hush, my dear Mistress…' consoled the young servant. 'I believe he is still alive, my Mistress.'

'Father King instructed me to become the water that makes Yami grow tall and strong…' wailed Seraph, rubbing her red, swollen eyes.

'Yes, my Mistress, you'll become the water. You will lead Yami to become tall and strong, my Mistress…' said Fate, hugging little Seraph. Slowly she calmed down.

'I swear to God, that I'll kill those United Nations men, in the name of Yami!' asserted the little Seraph, her eyes red with fire. She had made her determination. 'I will not forgive them! I will make Yami known to the whole world, and _I will not let my Father King down_!'

* * *

><p><em>The previous night.<em>

'Sir Neo, the _Akira Report_ has arrived.'

'Great,' the darkness covered the man like a veil; nothing could be seen of him. He clasped his two feeble hands together, making a vague noise that echoed throughout the black room. Following, there was a click sound and a silhouette hurried over to him.

'Here it is, Sir Neo.'

The silver moonlight that now penetrated through the glass ceiling revealed a bald man in his early fifties, bowing his head at another person. He was seated comfortably on what seemed to be like a wheelchair.

'Good job,' commended Sir Neo with his usual deep voice. There was the noise of paper being torn. 'I appreciate the help you have provided for me over the past two decades.'

'It's nothing, Sir Neo.' The bald man was flattered. 'Now if you may refer to page thirty-eight of the Report…' He offered to flip the pages over for his employer.

'Hgn?' Sir Neo snorted as he glanced through the page. '_Fate Ingris_? The name's familiar.'

'Yes. He is the right-hand man for the dead Ronald O John, as you can see. According to Soteria, he is currently working for Ronald's daughter, Seraph O John, the leader of Al-Magnum.'

'I already knew that,' said Sir Neo. 'Bring me to the actual point.'

'However…' the man paused for a few seconds to take a deep breath, and continued. '…Fate Ingris has already been found dead two years prior to the establishment of Al-Magnum. So…'

'Sacred Talisman's purposes may be more than we thought, Sir,' he coughed a little and proceeded with his explanation. 'Just as your _Testament_ predicted.'

Sir Neo gasped for a moment. '_Sakura_…' he mumbled with a faint voice.

'What, Sir?' the bald man seemed to hear something.

'...'

'_Sakura_… _Kendai_…'

* * *

><p>'<em>Onii-chan! <em>Amaya has done it!' The brown-haired girl smiled broadly. 'Moonlight Raider, destroy that monster! _Lunar Beam!_'

There was a sudden flash of light and the next moment, Rin and Rei's Life Points went down to 800.

Amaya smirked as she put on a victory pose. Having absolute confidence with herself after the training in Europe, she thought her triumph would only be a matter of time.

'Now…' she said to herself, ignoring the pilots of the two Darkness Units whining like idiots behind. '…Let's see how would the Yuchi bugger handle his duel.' She pressed a button on her keyboard. The screen buzzed and showed a broadcast of the battle on the other Duel Lane.

'My turn!' Yuchi shouted as he pulled out his card. 'It's here!' He smiled.

'During this turn, _Angel Gardna_ is destroyed,' he announced, putting his faithful monster into his Graveyard slot. 'Thank you,' he whispered to the card.

He proceeded with his next strategy. 'Flip Summon!' he pointed at the set monster on his field. '_Hand of the Light_.' Rather than being a fairy like Yuchi's other monsters, this Hand of the Light looked more like a fairy's pet. It was a tiny dragon with white wings and a long tail.

'Hand of the Light's flip effect,' Yuchi explained. 'By paying 1000 Life Points, I Special Summon one Fairy-Type Tuner Monster from my hand.'

'Really?' laughed Honda.

'You want to lower your Life Points just for that?' agreed Toyota.

Yuchi's Life Points dropped to 2000. 'I Special Summon the Level 3 _Magical Fairy Apprentice_.'

'And then,' Yuchi picked out another card from his hand. 'I tribute Hand of the Light to Advance Summon the Level 5 _Sapphire Angel_!' Two of Yuchi's favorite monsters emerged, moving proudly alongside his Unit.

'Sapphire Angel's effect! I draw one card from my deck!' cried Yuchi. He looked at it and let out a grin. 'Thank you, my cards.'

Yuchi closed his eyes, took a deep breath and declared, 'I tune my Magical Fairy Apprentice and Sapphire Angel together!' The large green rings descended from the sky and enclosed the two monsters.

'_The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory! Synchro Summon, my faithful ace, Supernova Angel Knight!'_

'When Magical Fairy Apprentice is used as a Synchro Material Monster, I add one Equip Spell Card from my Deck to hand,' announced Yuchi as he searched through his deck to find a suitable card. 'Here it is! I activate my Equip Spell Card, _Axe of Despair_! Supernova Angel Knight gains 1000 Attack Points!' The white warrior let out a loud battle cry.

'From my hand, I equip another Spell Card to my Supernova Angel Knight,' Yuchi smiled. '_Wings of Hope_.'

The wings on Supernova Angel Knight gradually turned golden in color. It gleamed with a bright light under the afternoon sun.

'Supernova Angel Knight attacks _Geb the Earth Guardian_!' declared Yuchi. 'Your Trap Card has lost its effect, so Geb's Attack is now back to 2800.' The white warrior held its sword high above his head, ready to slash the bull-headed beast in front of him.

'I won't let you!' cried Toyota, suddenly accelerating his Darkness Unit. 'I activate _Nud the Wind Guardian'_s effect. When Geb the Earth Guardian is targeted for an attack, I can change that target to Nud,' the emerald phoenix soaring above the sky descended and protected Geb from the sword-slashing attack with its giant wings.

'And then, as long as Geb the Earth Guardian is on the field, Nud the Wind Guardian cannot be destroyed by battle! I won't let you destroy the bonds of us brothers! Not by a little bastard like you, Yuchi Kendai!'

'The effect of Equip Spell Card, Wings of Hope activates. By sending this card to the Graveyard, Supernova Angel Knight gains 1000 Attack Points and can attack once more this turn,' Yuchi ignored the twin's cries and continued with his brutal assault. 'Your Nud's effect can only activate once per turn, am I right?'

Toyota screamed as if he had seen a ghost, but Honda remained calm and collected. Supernova Angel Knight's Attack increased to 4500 and it held its sword up again to prepare for another attack.

Slash! The white warrior ruthlessly sliced the bull-headed demon into half and destroyed it. Honda and Toyota's Life Points went down to 2300.

'Toyota, activate your Trap Card! We shall let him witness the power of us brothers,' snorted Honda.

'Y… Yes, brother! Trap Card, _Rage of Wind_! When Geb the Earth Guardian is destroyed while Nud the Wind Guardian is on the field, you receive 1000 damage!' A shockwave shot out of the two Darkness Units and it struck Yuchi, reducing his Life Points to 1000. But Yuchi retained the smile on his face.

'_A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his own strategy well…'_

'_His own strategy…'_

'_His own strategy…'_

'Yeah, Tenshi…' Yuchi whispered to himself. 'It's not about my opponent, it's about me!'

'It's still my turn!' declared Yuchi. 'I activate the Normal Spell Card, _Ragnarok Stream_!'

A gust of strong wind blew as Yuchi played his card. The pilots embraced themselves, as they were exposed to the open.

'Sorry, Supernova Angel Knight! I select and destroy my monster!' the white warrior let out his battle cry for the last time as he slowly disintegrated into shining sparkles.

'Huh?'

'Why would you destroy your own monster?'

'Because if I don't do so, I would not be able to _destroy_ your monster,' laughed Yuchi. 'Ragnarok Stream's effect! I destroy Nud the Wind Guardian and inflict damage to both of you equal to its Attack Points!'

'You shall not do so!' cried Honda. 'I activate the last Trap Card on my Field, _Earthbound Wishes_!'

As a hurricane started to blow, accompanied with flashes of lightning in the sky and thunder roaring, the emerald phoenix was gradually turning into stone. Eventually, it could no longer move; it was motionless, hanging in the sky until the strong wind began to corrode it into pieces.

'Earthbound Wishes activates! It halves the damage caused by a card effect.' The twins' did not lose. Their Life Points still remained at a steady 1100.

'And then, I draw a card, and if it's an EARTH-Attribute monster, I can Special Summon it to the Field!' jeered Honda. He pulled out a card from his deck. Yuchi gasped.

Disappointed by the outcome, Honda put the card into his hand and proceeded to control his Darkness Unit. Yuchi let out a sigh of relief.

'You still have a lot to learn, Yuchi Kendai,' Honda said, putting on an ambiguous smile. 'While you have_ great potential_, I can see that you are still _undecided_.'

'Why did he suddenly say all these to me?' Yuchi thought. He was confused by that last sentence. '_Undecided_? _Great potential_? What does he mean?'

* * *

><p>...<p>

'My Mistress, everything has been prepared,' Fate reported. 'What's left is only your _Sacred Talisman_.'

'Excellent. Now I shall show the world again, the powers my father left to me,' lauded the pink-haired girl, as she stepped down her throne and moved towards her magic circle in the middle of the hall.

With both her eyes closed, she stood in the center of the magic circle, holding the pendant in her hand. The runes carved on the floor around the magic circle glowed in pink.

Seraph slowly picked up both her hands, and chanted something in her mouth.

**'_Mother of all Darkness,_**

**_I call upon thee._**

**_Thy powers shalt be awakened,_**

**_Thy powers no longer bounded. _**

**_Thou shalt be released,_**

**_As the embodiment of curse and despair…'_**

The runes glowed even brighter. When the girl opened her eyes once more, they were no longer black like she had moments ago. They were red; deep, shining red like blood, with fire burning in them.

'My Mistress!' shouted Fate.

'I'm alright,' smiled Seraph. She closed her eyes once more and cried, '_Darkness, grant me access to the minds of the ten people_!'

* * *

><p>It was the second time Yuchi had seen such things happening in front of him.<p>

The twins, Honda and Toyota, seemed to have been possessed by some kind of evil spirit. They struggled to regain control of their bodies, but no matter what their minds did not seem to listen to their commands. Their eyes were shining red, just like what Yuchi had seen before. Black mist shrouded their Darkness Units.

'I need to stay focus, I can't falter like this…' Yuchi reminded himself that he should not repeat what had happened before. 'The other pilots can be so calm, why can't I do that as well?'

'_We meet again, Yuchi Kendai_,' laughed Honda in a sharp, girlish voice again unlike his own. 'I am the leader of Al-Magnum, controlling these people as and when I wish.'

'Why?' shouted Yuchi. 'Why do you have to resort to such means near the end of each duel?'

'Because my pilots are no longer useful,' explained Toyota in the same voice. 'They have served me well, but still they disappointed me at the end.'

'Just because they didn't defeat me?'

'You're quite smart, Yuchi Kendai,' lauded Honda. 'During each of Al-Magnum's operations, when I see that my pilots are at the brink of defeat, I shall "_help_" them, by taking over their useless bodies as well as the duel.'

'What's your reason?'

'It gives me opportunities to test out my skills before the "_big day_" comes,' said Toyota. 'Now… why not we stop this pointless conversation and move on to the duel?' He ended with a hysterical laugh.

'You _bastard_…' Yuchi cursed, something that he would do only when he was extremely angry. 'I will not forgive you for all the mess you have done!' He grasped onto his controller tightly.

'**DUEL**!' declared the three duelists.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Don't miss the second last chapter in Part One of the story… Chapter 13: Darkness (Pt. 2)!<em>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Card of the Chapter<em>**

Wings of Hope (Equip Spell Card)

Equipped only to a Fairy-Type monster. The equipped monster cannot be targeted by the effects of cards that lower ATK or DEF. During your Battle Phase, you can send this card equipped to a monster to the Graveyard. That monster gains 1000 Attack Points, and can attack once more this Battle Phase.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

*sighs in relief*

Only two more chapters to go before Part One ends!

It has been an enjoyable time so far.

Thanks to this fanfiction, I now love writing as much as I love watching anime and manga.

I plan to enter the Writers' Corner once my high school starts in February.

Anyway, talking about my favorite chapters I have written so far.

It would be _Chapter 7: Blood _and this chapter.

Why? Because they give more insight to some of the characters I like very much.

In Chapter 7, we know more about Jun Higurashi and his sad past.

For this chapter, Seraph's backstory is explored, and it gives the readers a new perspective to her character.

We learn that she did not originally intend to become Al-Magnum's leader, and I myself feel pitiful for her after writing this chapter.

More about Seraph and her servant, Fate Ingris, will be explored in Part Two and Three of the fanfiction, so don't miss them!

Please continue to support my fanfiction! _Arigatou ne!_

- _Project M.G._

* * *

><p>PS: There will be a Special Chapter in February after Part One ends. More details will be given at the end of Chapter 14.


	14. Chapter 13: Darkness Pt 2

**_Chapter 13: Darkness (Pt. 2)_**

* * *

><p><em>To Yuchi Kendai:<em>

_I leave this Deck with you. It is a gift from both your father and mother, specially designed for you. Do use it wisely. Happy Birthday._

* * *

><p>Seven years had passed since Yuchi received that unique birthday present from his parents. He didn't know who wrote the letter, but he believed that whoever sent it must be very close to his father.<p>

He wouldn't let anyone touch his precious deck over these years. Not the bullies in his orphanage. Not his classmates. Not even_ Kaworu Ikari_. 'It contains the wishes from my parents. They must be hoping to see me help other people one day with the deck, so I have to take care of it,' that's what he always believed.

Now, these wishes would finally be fulfilled.

'I just need to defeat _Al-Magnum_.' Yuchi glared at his two opponents whose minds had been controlled by their _mistress_. 'Don't worry. I'll definitely save you from your pain!'

'It's still my turn!' declared Yuchi. 'During the End Phase, the effect of _Supernova Angel Knight_ activates.' He took out a card from his Graveyard slot. 'I remove from play_ Hand of the Light_ in my Graveyard. Rise again, Supernova Angel Knight!' He smiled heartily. His beloved ace monster had finally returned.

'My turn!' screamed Toyota. He grinned menacingly, full of satisfaction, as if he knew that he would finally win the duel this turn. His shiny red eyes glowed with doom.

'Now, I shall let you witness our_ Card of Darkness_,' laughed Honda.

'Correct,' agreed his twin brother. 'I remove from play all the _four_ monsters in my Graveyard!' He proceeded to announce. 'With this, I Special Summon the _Nightmare Naga_ from my hand.'

A bolt of lightning suddenly pierced through the dark, gloomy sky and struck his Darkness Unit. He cringed in pain as the bolt of lightning shocked him mercilessly. His mouth hanged wide open and his hair started to turn white. The helpless look on his face revealed that he did not enjoy this at all. The possessed Honda watched behind, doing nothing to rescue his brother from his ordeal.

Again black mist shot out of his mouth. It shrouded the whole field, surrounding it in total darkness. Yuchi could no longer see the silhouettes of his two opponents. He could only recognize them from their sinister glowing eyes.

The black mist began to shrink in size and form a black object, long and thin resembling a snake's body. Two large eyes emerged out of its large forehead, shining with red just like its master. As the black mist slowly dispersed away from the whole field, the lightning also decreased in intensity, relieving Toyota's body of some pain.

'Look at it! It's our Card of Darkness!' laughed Honda. 'It's Level 10 and has _3600_ Attack Points! Can you defeat it, Yuchi Kendai?'

'Nightmare Naga's effect activates! By halving its Attack until the end of turn, it can attack you _directly_,' said Toyota.

The monster's body became even thinner and longer. It slithered swiftly past Supernova Angel Knight, and emerged in front of Yuchi. And then, it started to twist its body around Yuchi like a python, trying to suffocate him.

Yuchi struggled but the monster only continued to twist its body around him. He could not move at all. His limbs were already out of his control, bound tightly by the monster's body. He tried to breathe, however the monster had already took over his throat. It wrapped around him, covering most of his body and even his face. Yuchi could not see anything since his eyes were already covered by the black mist.

His heart beat faster. He could hear Doctor Parvita's voice from his computer. It seemed to be reminding him that he was in serious danger, and that he would die of suffocation anytime. Yuchi attempted opening his mouth to respond, but he found out that he could not even do so, more so letting out a cry of help.

'I can't lose here, I can't lose here…' Yuchi repeatedly thought of these words. 'Jun said I still have a lot of time left, my hourglass of Life hasn't ended yet… I must rescue Honda and Toyota, can't let my parents down…'

Images of his memories appeared in his mind.

The grave with the words '…_R.I.P. Sakura Kendai'_

_Jun's_ warm but sad smile…

_Kaworu_…

'_Can't… let… them… down_…' Yuchi gasped. 'Please, God, please end this. I can't die here,' he prayed.

Yuchi felt a sudden pain in his chest. It was unbearable. It felt as if there were a thousand needles piercing through him. Yuchi closed his eyes, trying not to think of what would happen to him. He knew that something was dripping out inside his suit, but he did not want to imagine what it was. He wanted his wish to win the duel to overwhelm his thoughts, to anesthetize him from his torture.

'That's enough, Nightmare Naga.'

The monster let go of Yuchi's body, relieving him from his pain. He slowly opened his eyes. Blurrily, he could see that he only had 200 Life Points left. He knew that he could only win in the next turn. His body could no longer take another attack. Honda must have another of these beasts. If he couldn't win on his next turn, Honda would definitely remove his four monsters in his Graveyard and summon one more Nightmare Naga, and declare a direct attack on him. Everything would be gone then.

'I end my turn with that,' said Toyota. 'Nightmare Naga has another effect. As long as it stays on the field, you cannot attack any other monsters other than this card.'

'That means you _cannot_ attack me directly before you defeat Nightmare Naga,' added Honda.

Yuchi looked at his hand. He had used up everything he could use on his last turn. 'I'll need to count on my _last_ draw._ Please, my cards…_'

He took a glance at far away. Red and blue lights were flickering there. Yuchi wondered if that was Tenshi's Duel Lane. 'Now I don't wish to defeat him. I just want to save people… I just don't want to repeat the same history as Jun… Please, _father_, _mother_, _please_.' He bowed his head before his deck.

'Draw!' Yuchi closed his eyes and swiftly pulled out his last card. Something was tingling inside him. Would I be able to win with this card? His heart was jumping up and down. All of Neo Domino City would depend on this draw.

He opened his eyes to meet his destiny. Time seemed to be going very slowly. Holding the card he had just drawn in his right hand, Yuchi prayed that it would help him win the duel no matter what.

He turned his head to look at the card and let out a satisfying smile. 'You're here.'

'I activate the Spell Card _De-Synchro_!' shouted Yuchi as he immediately inserted the card into his Duel Disk. 'I send Supernova Angel Knight back to my Extra Deck and Special Summon_ Sapphire Angel_ and _Magical Fairy Apprentice_ from the Graveyard.' His monster knelt down faithfully and vanished into the light. Replacing it was two of its material monsters.

'And then,' Yuchi smiled, 'I tune my Sapphire Angel and Magical Fairy Apprentice once more!'

'What?' exclaimed Honda and Toyota.

'Be reborn, my ace monster, Supernova Angel Knight!' Yuchi put up his right hand as the white warrior stood up proudly behind his Unit once more. 'Thank you, father, mother,' he said to his deck.

'Magical Fairy Apprentice's effect activates!' declared Yuchi. 'I can add one Equip Spell Card from my deck to hand.' He picked out a card from the thick stack. 'I equip Supernova Angel Knight with _Blessing Stone_.' A green aura surrounded Yuchi's monster.

'Blessing Stone _copies_ the effect of another Equip Spell Card in the Graveyard,' explained Yuchi confidently. 'And of course, that card will be _Wings of Hope_.'

Supernova Angel Knight's wings turned golden once more. It let out a gleeful cry.

'I send the Blessing Stone to the Graveyard,' said Yuchi, the green aura disappearing from Supernova Angel Knight. 'I hope you haven't forgotten the effect of Wings of Hope, have you?'

'This is… impossible. How could you win over my Card of Darkness again?' The girl controlling Honda and Toyota behind was shocked at the outcome. 'My operation has failed… _again_?'

'I activate the effect of Wings of Hope!' cried Yuchi. 'Supernova Angel Knight's Attack is increased to 3500, and it can attack twice this turn!'

'Go, Supernova Angel Knight!' declared Yuchi, his monster holding up his great sword, ready for another attack. 'Destroy Nightmare Naga!' The warrior pierced his sword through the long cloud of black mist. It escaped back to Toyota's mouth. The poor teenager's body struggled in pain once more.

Both Honda and Toyota only had 800 Life Points left. Victory was sealed for Yuchi now.

'Final attack, Supernova Angel Knight!' Yuchi's monster let out its loudest battle cry ever and rushed forward, penetrating through both the Darkness Units with its shining white sword. There was a sudden explosion, and the opponents' Life Points went down to 0.

'_Win, Yuchi Kendai_,' declared the computer.

Yuchi let out a sign of relief. This had been the toughest duel for him so far. At least he finally made it. He saved Neo Domino City from potential destruction by Al-Magnum.

'Yuchi Kendai…' said Honda, his mistress still manipulating his mind. '…This is just the beginning of Al-Magnum's plot to take over your city. As long as we are in control of the Darkness Units, we'll never cease to exist!'

'Who gave you the information of the Darkness Units? Is it _Soteria_?' demanded Yuchi.

'Who knows,' laughed Toyota, blood dripping out of the side of his mouth. 'But let me warn you, Yuchi Kendai. You shall be the _center_ of all the events that shall befall U.N.D.E.A.D. in the future. You shall fall to the _darkness_ that shall devour your _heart_, and _despair_ shall reign over your mind. All because you chose to pilot a Unit!' he threatened. Both Honda and him laughed hysterically.

'What do you mean?' Yuchi asked.

But before he could obtain a reply, the two Darkness Units had escaped. He tried to chase after them, however they were already out of sight when he changed his Unit into Normal Mode.

'What does she mean?' Yuchi asked himself. 'What about the other pilots? Does she also threaten Tenshi, Wiles or Amaya like this just now? Why does she say that I would be the "_center_ of all the events"…?'

'Pilot Kendai', Commander Lupine showed up in the computer screen. 'Good work. Now return to the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters asap. You are injured.'

Yuchi looked at his suit. Blots of blood were stained on the chest part. He had been too engrossed with defeating the enemy that he had forgotten he was wounded by the opponent's Card of Darkness.

'Roger,' replied Yuchi.

'I shall now guide you back to the Headquarters. Technical Officer Maya has already opened the gate to the underground for you. Please follow my instructions...'

'I understand, Sir.'

* * *

><p>'<em>Unit Type Four landing, Unit Type Four landing<em>…' announced a man's voice as Yuchi's Unit returned to the port.

Yuchi limped down the steps. He was greeted by a team of doctors and nurses who were waiting for him to arrive. He clutched onto his chest firmly. It was still painful. Red blood continued to drip out of his suit.

He fell asleep as soon as he lied down on the stretcher. He didn't want to care the outcomes of his colleagues' duels, nor how Al-Magnum would react after their loss. All that he needed was just a good rest. The two weeks had been too demanding for him. From the Riding Duel with Tenshi to the most recent Unit Duel, Yuchi had never been able to enjoy one night of sleep…

'…'

'…_Yuchi_…'

He was walking on the rocky path again. It seemed to be an endless journey. Where would he reach this time? Yuchi tried not to look back. He knew that behind him was the abyss of darkness that he had always been fearful of, something that he wouldn't desire to meet for the whole of his life. He continued walking forward, taking one slow step at the time, heading towards the unknown light far beyond.

Yuchi arrived at the same place as he was after his duel with Jun. Everything was _white_ around him. The road, the pebbles on the ground, the birds soaring in the sky, everything. Whiter than snow, purer than the heart of any kind man in the world. Yuchi trudged along the white pathway leading towards the gigantic castle far away. He wanted to find Jun, he wanted to ask him more questions, he wanted to know everything from him.

'_Konnichiwa,' _a familiar voice came from behind.

Yuchi turned his head to meet his friend. He was in a white tunic, completely different from what he was wearing on their last meeting. He smiled at him, welcoming him back to his world.

'_Konnichiwa,' _greeted the boy again. 'My name is _Jun Higurashi_. Have you forgotten me?'

'Definitely no,' Yuchi smiled back. 'Hello, Jun.' The two exchanged handshakes.

The two sauntered along the path. It was snowing. Flakes of white were falling from the sky like a meteor shower. Yet both Jun and Yuchi could not feel any coldness at all.

'Where is this place again?' asked Yuchi.

'_Paradise_, Yuchi,' answered Jun, the warm smile retaining on his face. 'It's where dead people like me go to.'

'_Dead_? But…'

'No buts, Yuchi,' Jun put his finger on Yuchi's lips, signaling him not to say anymore. 'Like I said last time, my hourglass of Life has already ended. Besides, I'm much happier here.'

'Sorry…'

'Never mind, Yuchi. So what brings you here again, my friend?'

'What?' Yuchi didn't fully understand his question. He only knew that he was wandering on the rocky path just now, and then he was suddenly transported by some light here.

'I understand, Yuchi,' replied Jun, staring deeply into his confused eyes. 'I know what you are worried about.'

Jun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to look at his front. 'You are _undecided_, Yuchi.'

'Undecided?'

'Yeah, your eyes tell me that,' said Jun. 'It seems that you have not fully realized your _true_ purpose of dueling yet.'

'Isn't it to _help_ other people?'

'No,' Jun shook his head in disagreement. 'You've many other things you're worried about in your heart, Yuchi.' He put his hand on Yuchi's shoulder. 'Finding your father, fulfilling your parents' wishes, protecting your friends, saving the Al-Magnum members… It seems that helping people is no longer the only reason why you duel.'

'Yuchi…' he patted his shoulder. 'I can see that it's burdening you. You want to help the people in your city, yet you also want to rescue your enemies.'

'But what should I do?' questioned Yuchi. 'I can't stop feeling pity for those pilots whose minds have been possessed by their mistress.'

'Yuchi,' said Jun. 'There are some _sacrifices_ that have to be made in this world. Think about it. The vegetables, the meat you eat, they're plants and animals that have sacrificed themselves to serve us human beings.'

Both of them stopped before the hourglass of Life. Currently, Yuchi's time was being shown. They could see that there was still much sand left on its upper bulb.

'There's always things that can't be helped, Yuchi. The people who have devoted themselves for Al-Magnum, for example. They have to be sacrificed for the peace of the world you live in, Yuchi. They have no choice but to offer themselves for the _greater_ _good_ of mankind.'

Yuchi wiped off the drop of tear in his eye. He couldn't help but think of Honda and Toyota. 'So… We have to let them being tortured by the Cards of Darkness and die, huh?' he asked weakly.

'That, is called _Destiny_, Yuchi,' smiled Jun. 'It may sound bad, but unfortunately they could only choose their destinies to be so. We can't stop it, Yuchi.'

'Why can't I? Why can't I choose to _defy_ destiny?'

'Yuchi, I know you have the prowess as a duelist. Your confidence in the game is also very strong. But, _destiny_ is _destiny_, Yuchi. You can't change the fact that you still have so much time left, can you?' He pointed to Yuchi's hourglass.

There was the sudden chiming of a bell, coming from the castle far beyond. Loud and clear.

'It looks like my time is up,' said Jun. 'I think I must go now, Yuchi. I'll send you back to your own world for now. Remember our _promise_, Yuchi!' He walked away and his silhouette disappeared amongst the snow.

'W… Wait!' Yuchi stammered. His eyes were blurred. Slowly, he started to feel drowsy.

And then, he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>'Mr. Kendai?'<p>

When Yuchi woke up once more, he found himself in the hospital ward.

Doctor Parvita was attending to the wound on his chest. She applied some gel to it and sealed it with plasters and some cotton wool. Yuchi did not feel any pain at all. 'Maybe I'm already numb to it,' he thought.

'Thankfully it's only a _minor_ cut,' she said. Yuchi let out a sigh of relief.

Knock. Knock.

'Come in,' the doctor called out.

'I said I don't want to see that bugger, _Onii-chan_!' The voice of a girl shouted outside the door. 'Look, he can even get injured in a simple Unit Duel…'

Creak. The door opened. Tenshi stepped into the room with the usual arrogant look on his face. With one last pull, he forced Amaya to tag along with him into the ward.

'Hey, _Onii-chan, _it hurts!' complained the brown-haired girl, massaging her right wrist. 'Why should I see the bugger?'

'Yuchi…' Tenshi opened his mouth to speak, ignoring the shouts and cries of Amaya behind him.

'What is it?' Yuchi asked coldly.

'…Congratulations. You have successfully beat me,' Tenshi said with a faint smile on his face. 'You finished your Unit Duel one minute earlier than I did.'

Yuchi simpered, looking quite pleased. But he chose to remain silent.

'Huh?' Amaya froze and stared at Tenshi. '_Onii-chan… _lost? But how could the bugger…?'

'Stop calling him _bugger_,' Tenshi said softly to his sister. 'It's _rude_.'

'I can't believe this…' Amaya looked surprised. '_Onii-chan… _defeated by Yuchi Kendai, of all people?'

'Anyway, it looks like we have settled the scores between us. So it's now a tie. _Good job_, Yuchi,' lauded Tenshi. Yuchi blushed. Nothing would be better for him now than getting praised by somebody you've always regarded as your rival.

'But don't forget, Yuchi!' Tenshi suddenly declared, his voice so loud that even the nurses at the corridor outside could hear him. 'It's only a _tie_, so I hope you won't be complacent about it. Remember, we still have to _battle_ another time.' He turned his head and walked away in a cocky fashion. Amaya made a face to him and tagged along with her _Onii-chan. _

'_Yeah_,' Yuchi replied. He smiled at Tenshi as he watched him leave the ward. '_You're truly my rival, Tenshi_.'

* * *

><p><strong><em>Don't miss the last chapter of Part One… Chapter 14: The Beginning!<em>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Card of the Chapter<em>**

Blessing Stone

(Equip Spell Card)

Select one Equip Spell Card in your Graveyard. This card's effect becomes the same as that of the selected card.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**A Note from the Author**

Ah, Part One is finally ending soon.

Since this is just my first fanfiction work, of course I'm personally not too satisfied with it.

I think there's still a lot of room for improvement.

For example, I need to make the dialogue between characters more engaging.

That's why I would really need a break after this. To sharpen up my writing skills before returning to Part Two.

I believe it's necessary to do so.

However, I don't think the break would take too long. I may return on 12th of March as I wrote on my profile.

Or, if I got busy with my other works, I may return a bit later. Sorry about that!

By the way, talking about other works.

I've recently started a novel adaptation of an original galgame I'm going to create. It's on fictionpress, the sister site of fanfiction net that hosts original work.

The reason I began the novel first is because I would need some illustrations before I could start with the galgame.

Also, I need some reviews for the overall plot and make some changes to the script.

The URL's here: .com/s/2990649/1/Kaka. Please support it! _Arigatou!_

_- Project M.G._


	15. Chapter 14: The Beginning

**_Chapter 14: The Beginning_**

* * *

><p>'<em>Onii-chan! <em>I said I don't want to sleep in the _same_ room with that bugger!' Amaya complained in her usual forceful and annoying tone. Yuchi immediately turned his head away and faked a few coughs.

'Amaya, don't be so stubborn. Commander Lupine said that it's a good chance for both of you to bond with each other as _teammates_.'

'Argh... Why am I in the same team with that bugger?' shouted Amaya like a mad person. The noise she made was so loud that the cubicle at the two ends of the corridor could hear her quite clearly. 'He bullied me before!'

Yuchi suddenly felt a sense of tickling in his heart.

Tenshi looked at Yuchi, who was standing beside the door together with his luggage, and looked back at Amaya. 'An _order_ is an order, Amaya. Don't complain about everything,' he warned. 'If you care for your job as a Pilot, that is.'

'I – Don't – Want!' the girl barked. 'How can I sleep safe and sound with such a perverted bugger like him?' She pointed his finger rudely at Yuchi.

_'Amaya_!' Tenshi growled. His face was all red with fury. Amaya immediately zipped up her mouth. She could do nothing but glare like an enraged bull at the person she was about to live with. Yuchi turned away, continuing to pretend that he did not hear anything about the quarrel between the duo.

'Hgn!' Amaya snorted, after what seemed to be a few seconds of total silence. 'Fine, I'll live with the bugger.'

She stomped out of the room, giving Yuchi another glare before she left. Yuchi kept mum throughout the whole time.

Tenshi let out a sigh of relief. He turned his head to look at Yuchi. 'Amaya's always like that. Complaining and complaining whenever she's unhappy with the things around her. You'll get used to it, Yuchi.'

Yuchi burst into laughter. 'Yeah, Tenshi. I'll have to try to get used to her somehow, she's my _teammate_.'

* * *

><p>'My Mistress…' bowed Fate. 'Here's the files as per your request. The biographies of all the U.N.D.E.A.D. pilots.' Carefully, he presented to Seraph four thick folders, each labeled with a pilot's name.<p>

'Thank you, Fate.' Seraph took over the four folders and shone at them using the faint green light emitted from her pendant. She scrutinized through the covers, making sure that they were of the correct labels.

'By the way…' Fate continued. 'Soteria have a message for you, my Mistress.'

'Speak, Fate.'

'They would like to wish you every success in your next plan. Of course, that would refer to _Step Three_ according to the _script_ they have written,' informed the young servant in a respectful manner.

'What about their comments for Step Two?' asked Seraph. She was certainly referring to her recent operation that had failed with the loss of all the Unit Duels.

'Everything is going smoothly according to their script, my Mistress. They even said that there's potential that you might help them _succeed_…' said Fate.

'Excellent.'

'If Soteria succeeds…' continued Fate, wiping off the sweat on his forehead. The dark and secluded place was rather hot. '…They say they would let you reign over the whole of the world as you wish, my Mistress. Your Father King will definitely be proud of you…'

Seraph smiled weakly. She brushed her beautiful, long pink hair with her bony fingers. 'That would be… the _best_ thing to ever happen in my life, my dear Fate. The whole world ruled under the thumbs of my Father King's ideologies. It will be a world filled with _hope_ and _light_, a paradise that no other place could be!' She suddenly broke into sinister laughter.

'Thank you, my dear Fate…' She returned the folders to her loyal servant after she had browsed through all of them. 'It seems that Step Three will be another success. Ah, before I forget…'

'What else is it that you require, my Mistress?'

'Take me to the _dungeon_, my dear Fate,' instructed Seraph. 'I need to welcome our new visitor personally. He's the key to our success.'

'I don't see why not, my Mistress,' answered Fate, pulling out a heavy-looking golden key from his pocket. Holding a candle in one hand to illuminate the way, he led Seraph towards the darker and deeper regions of the underground chamber. It had been their only home since the arrest of Seraph's father.

Fate held onto one of Seraph's hand tightly as they walked, trying to avoid every single gap between the stone tiles. Slowly and cautiously, they passed several corridors, so dark and eerie that the only inhabitants there were a few rodents and bugs. Faraway, there was the dripping sound of water, punctuating the silence of the chamber.

'My Mistress, it seems that you've not been here for quite some time,' said Fate, breaking the silence of the darkness. He nearly tripped over something. On checking, it was actually the corpse of a dead dog who perhaps had entered the place unintentionally and died of hunger.

'Yeah, I think so,' replied Seraph, removing the cobwebs that had stuck onto her black gown.

They walked down a long flight of stairs leading to a chamber deeper below. As they began to near the place, the noise of people shouting and wailing became louder and louder. It was accompanied by the crisp and clear banging sound of chains against some metal gate.

'My Mistress, we have reached your dungeon. I shall lead you to the new _visitor_ now.'

They walked along the long corridor. Seraph looked left and right around her. The people were being kept in cells, behind thick, heavy metal bars like birds that were trapped inside cages. Iron chains held them firmly to the ground so that they could not move at all. Most of the prisoners looked listless. They seemed to be deprived of all their souls, leaving behind their bodies without any consciousness.

_'Let me out!'_ cried a teenage girl to Seraph as she walked past one of the cells one cell. 'Why am I chained? Where are my parents?'

Seraph ignored the girl's begs and smiled coldly to herself. 'You should be proud that you're here,' she called out. 'You will be serving _Al-Magnum_ in the future, as a _pilot_ of the Darkness Unit. Become the fodder for my Father King's success!'

This was followed by the wailings of a few other prisoners in the neighboring cells. The teenage girl started to weep.

'My Mistress, we are reaching our visitor. Here it is,' he reached out his hand to point at the cell at the far end of the corridor. Seraph fastened her pace. She yearned to see her visitor, immediately.

Behind the cold metal bars of the cell was a naked teenage boy, chained to the ground like all the other prisoners. His messy white hair covered most of his face, exposing only his right eye. The red eye seemed soulless, it was just staring at the front without any movement at all. The boy sat motionless on the floor, not doing anything, nor letting out any sound.

_'What's your name_, my dear visitor?' asked Seraph, bending down to look at the boy.

He did not reply at all. He turned his head away to look at his right.

'I repeat, _what's your name_?' Seraph raised her voice.

_'Kaworu_,' the boy replied monotonously. _'Kaworu. Ikari.'_

'I heard that you wish to destroy the _U.N.D.E.A.D_., isn't it?'

'Yes,' said Kaworu. 'I want to save my _friend_.'

'Oh? Who is it?'

_'Yuchi_. Yuchi Kendai,' replied Kaworu.

'Why?'

'U.N.D.E.A.D. kidnapped him. Made him do _work_ for them.' the boy said, a tear dripping out of his soulless eye.

'And so, you want us, Al-Magnum to destroy it? To save your friend?' Seraph continued to probe further. She was interested with her _'new visitor'_.

'Yes,' said Kaworu. 'I… will do _anything_ for you… If possible…'

* * *

><p>Knock. Knock.<p>

'Come in,' said Commander Lupine.

'Good morning, Sir.' Entering the room was Wiles. He looked a bit exhausted.

'What happened?' asked the concerned Commander. 'You seemed to have been staying up overnight. Just look at your _bloodshot_ eyes.'

'Oh,' said Wiles, noticing his reflection on the glass window behind Commander Lupine. 'It's… nothing, Sir. I was just checking for some information on the Internet last night, that's all.'

'Don't overdo yourself, Euclid,' reminded the Commander. 'Remember, you are a _Pilot_. Pilots need to operate Units with full health so that they can defend Neo Domino City.'

'I understand,' Wiles replied, smiling at the Commander shyly.

'So, what is it that brings you to me today?' Commander Lupine took a sip of his coffee and leaned back on his chair.

'I would like to request for _leave_, Sir.'

'May I know the reason, Euclid?'

'It's some _family problems_,' explained Wiles. 'I need to go back to Vancouver, Sir.'

'I can _approve_ your request, Euclid…' The Commander paused for a moment. 'However…' he pressed a button on his keyboard. A holographic screen popped up in front of him, showing data of Yuchi. '…Pilot Kendai is still new. If you leave now, and should Al-Magnum strike the city once more during your leave, I'm afraid his workload would have to be _increased_…'

'Never mind about that, Sir,' interrupted Tenshi, who suddenly showed up behind Wiles. 'I will tutor Yuchi myself so that he would be able to handle the increased workload.'

'Pilot Tenshi?' Both Commander Lupine and Wiles exclaimed.

'Yes, I will tutor him,' asserted Tenshi. _'Personally_. As his rival who has defeated him before.'

'Commander…' Wiles turned his head to look at Commander Lupine.

'Approved,' said Commander Lupine, after some serious contemplation. 'Pilot Wiles Euclid, you may return to your hometown. I permit you to take leave from your position, at a maximum of 30 days, starting from next week. Is that enough?'

'…Yes,' said Wiles, still a bit surprised.

'For Pilot Tenshi Ryuma,' he looked at Tenshi. 'You have volunteered yourself as a tutor for Pilot Yuchi Kendai. Your scope of teaching will include aiding him to cope with situations of increased workload. Starting from _today_. Is that clear?'

'Roger,' obeyed Tenshi. He bowed to the Commander and marched out of the room in his usual arrogant fashion.

* * *

><p>'Hey, <em>Bugger<em>! Bugger Yuchi!' Amaya stomped back into her room and kicked Yuchi, who was lying down comfortably on the floor, in his stomach.

Yuchi let out a loud 'Ouch!' He clenched onto his stomach tightly. Annoyed, he asked the unfriendly girl. 'What is it that you want?'

'Let me warn you first, bugger,' snorted Amaya. 'Even though I let you sleep in my room, it's no excuse for you to _sekuhara _(sexually assault) me. If you do, I'll make sure you get fired by Commander Lupine, immediately! Do – You – _Understand_?' She put particular emphasis on the last three words.

'Yeah,' replied Yuchi coldly, picking himself up.

'And then…' Amaya marched across the floor carpet to the other side of the room. There were two single beds there, with a wide gap in between them. She stopped at the middle of the gap, facing Yuchi. '…This!' She pointed at the floor. 'This is the _maximum_ you can reach in this room. You sleep that bed, I sleep that bed. You dare come to my place, I'll make sure _Onii-chan _kills you! Do – You – _Understand_, Bugger?'

'Yeah…'

'Finally!' Amaya marched back to Yuchi and pointed her finger at the shared bathroom. 'Bathing time! You bugger, 1900 to 1930. Me, 1930 to 2000. Do – You – _Understand_?'

'Why can't I take 1930 to 2000?' Yuchi retorted. 'I need time to eat at the cafeteria, you know.'

'Then eat faster!' snapped Amaya. _'Pigs_ like you gobble up your food, isn't it? _Bugger_?'

'Okay…' Yuchi tried his best not to irritate Amaya. 'So I got _downgraded_ to a pig now...' he mused. He didn't mind getting killed by Tenshi or whatsoever, but he would like to avoid hitting Amaya's berserk button at all costs. His eardrums were more precious than anything else.

'Sigh…' He looked outside the window. The Headquarters did not have any kind of beautiful scenery to view at all. Just an underground complex that helped nothing to soothe the soul. Lights were flickering outside. Yuchi wondered if that were the test-type Units that Wiles was talking about during their first meeting. He stared at the iridescent sparks, thinking about all the things that had happened during the past two weeks.

'First, I _lost_ to Tenshi in a Riding Duel…' He could still recall Tenshi's arrogant laugh when he dealt the final blow with his Berserk Dragon.

'…And then, Wiles invited me to this Headquarters…' Images of Wiles' beautiful black saloon car, his first impressions of the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters, as well as the people he met inside there, all popped up in his mind.

One of the test-type Units swooshed past the window. The young pilot on it waved his hand at Yuchi as he flew past.

'…On that same day, I piloted a Unit and defeated Jun…' Tears started to flow out of his eyes. '…Yet I couldn't _save_ him at all…'

'_So I'm putting all my hopes on you, Yuchi. I'm sure you can help many people…'_ Jun's words to him were still etched in his mind.

'…I met Sir Bowman, Midget Dog, Amaya and many other people during my return to the Headquarters, but still…' Yuchi touched his head gently. He could vaguely remember all those scenes in his mind when he had that big headache.

'…When I recovered, I quarreled with Kaworu… I had no choice but to leave him…'

'…_Can you choose not to go, Yuchi…?' _How he wished that he could reply 'yes' to his question, but sadly he couldn't. 'It's my _Destiny_, Kaworu. I need to help other people. I hope you will realize that.' Yuchi wiped off the tears on his face.

These two weeks had been quite an emotional rollercoaster for him. Yet, he could eventually brave through it and reach the _pinnacle_ of his life. 'Father, Mother…' he put his hands together and prayed. '…Yuchi has finally done it. I've finally become an U.N.D.E.A.D. pilot and will help many people… Thank you… Now, please bless me, God, so that I can walk on my road of destiny smoothly.'

* * *

><p><em>- Part One – Chapters 1 to 14 – Fin -<em>

* * *

><p>* 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' starts to play in the background *<p>

The second segment of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Mirai no Sekai saga…

Covering from Chapter 15 onwards, continuing the story from where it left off in Part One…

Soteria and Al-Magnum's collaboration plan begins to unfold…

More Darkness Units invade Neo Domino City…

The truth behind U.N.D.E.A.D. slowly comes into light…

Our hero, Yuchi Kendai, yet…

Tentatively starting from 12th of March onwards…

_Yu-Gi-Oh! Mirai no Sekai II_

Don't miss it!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Preview of Special Chapter<em>**

The duel between Wiles and Yuchi began!

Why did they fight each other?

How would the duel end?

Yu-Gi-Oh! M.S. 2nd Special Chapter: _Brave Hearts, _up in mid-February!


End file.
